By Jonathon Schramm, assistant professor at Goshen College
Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: Today’s passage has always been a high point of the Old Testament for me, presaging in many ways the good news delivered by Jesus in the Beatitudes. Like me, have you ever wondered what it will take for humanity to “cease its warring madness” rather than descend into yet another conflict? To live in harmony and partnership with the rest of the Creation rather than at odds with and exploiting our fellow creatures? For your own life to be marked by contentment, joy and righteousness rather than anxiety and what-ifs? If so, then this passage is for you! As with Jesus’ reassurances in the Beatitudes, Jeremiah’s striking prophecy here assures us that the Lord is already in the process of bringing holistic righteousness to all of the earth – a new time is coming! This time, unlike that marked by the brokenness that we all know too well, will be full of the knowledge of the Lord. That knowledge will be written on our very heart, and on all of our hearts. The time of teaching and training, chastising and molding each other will be over. All of us, “from the least to the greatest,” will simply live in God’s righteousness and grace as fish live in water. Faithful living will no longer be a struggle, no longer something that we succeed in accomplishing only sometimes. We will finally be complete humans, ready to live in God’s image and as faithful spouses to the One whose own power and grace makes it possible. Thanks be to God! SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NRSV) A New Covenant The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord’, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
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By Luke Gascho, director of Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center at Goshen College
Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: Have you ever saved a phone message from a special person because you want to listen to it again in the future? Do you have any handwritten notes from close friend that you keep in special box or folder? Have you sought out a speaker for a personal conversation after hearing an inspiring seminar? What symbols, photos, objects or icons do you keep within sight at your desk because they represent a special experience or person?In each of these cases there is a message that is a treasure with great meaning for you. The message resonates with the core of your being. You don’t want to let it go. You want to be reminded of a relationship that moves your heart and mind. A well-spoken word from a close friend is cherished. God through Christ offers these kinds of messages to us. The messages are powerful and loving, but they are not static. They call us to move into new frames of being. The scriptures for this week tell us that change is afoot. Something new is emerging for those who seek. So, how do we get to the new? The following actions named in the texts are all part of bringing about inner transformation.
Let Christ’s actions mold and shape the core of our being. May the message of God’s love and grace be engraved in our hearts. The one who is gentle in spirit will renew us from the inside out and form an amazing upside down newness. By Jo-Ann Brant, Goshen College professor
Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: As we approach Easter and recognize the necessity of Jesus’ death and celebrate his resurrection, I must take care to wear my Easter bonnet rather than my doctoral cap when I read passages such as John 3:14-21. With my trained eye, I spot the elegant series of proofs that first provide an analogy and God’s motive to explain how Jesus’ death is a life-giving event and then a description of the character of those who cannot believe. With my Easter faith, my fear of death slides off as easily as worn out shoes, the burden of past failings is lifted off my shoulder, and I put on those crisp, clean, new clothes that represent my life in Christ, those clothes that I want to parade about and show the world. I want to come out into the light and proclaim my trust in God’s love. This Easter, as I ponder Jesus’ words, I plan to treat each step of preparation, from preparing the Easter egg hunt for my little neighbors to dressing for church, as an expression of celebration of my share in eternal life. Jesus does not speak explicitly of the Church in John’s Gospel, but right before this passage he describes being born anew through water and spirit (3:5), an allusion to Christian baptism. When I walk through the door of the Church on Easter morning and proclaim, “Christ has risen,” I know that I will be standing within the resurrected body of Christ. SCRIPTURE: John 3:14-21 (NRSV) And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.” By Abby Deaton, a senior at Goshen College
Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: We really were doomed from the beginning. We were born imperfect. From the moment we were born, we had no chance of being free of sin. But we were also born with purpose. We are “made for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” So we were created with the reality that we will sin, but with the possibility that we will do good. This would most certainly qualify for the “upside down kingdom” that this lenten season is about. During Lent, we are very intentional about focusing on our sins. We spend time repenting, we give up vices, we contemplate our imperfections and how that all relates to Jesus dying for our sins. The challenge that I am faced with in that is that I frequently dwell on my imperfections. It is very easy for me to get caught up in what I’ve done wrong or on how I have mistreated others or myself. In doing so, I often forget the big picture of what my life is truly about. It is important to recognize our faults and to work to become better, but that doesn’t mean we should dwell on all of our sins. We need to learn and grow from our mistakes and take what we have learned to better the world. That is how we are meant to spend our time and energy. God has already forgiven us. God has always forgiven us. From the moment we were born, we were forgiven because that is the gift of God’s grace. Lent is our spring cleaning. It is the time to see what bad behaviors we’ve accumulated and take the time to do away with those sins. It’s the time for grace. It’s the time to forgive and move on. It’s the time to learn and grow. It’s the time to refocus. We have good works to do. So let’s get to it. SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 2:1-10 (NRSV) From Death to Life You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. By Ross Peterson Veatch, Goshen College associate vice-president
Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: In his commentary on today’s passages, James Waltner writes that this psalm “exalts the steadfast love of the Lord as the creative rule that spawns new beginnings.” In my early twenties I was diagnosed with a heart disease that I inherited from my mother’s side of the family. The disease has taken both my grandmother and a first cousin – both before they reached 41. The key complication of our “family illness” is sudden death. I had been examined twice before, but had been given a clean bill of health by two different doctors. By the time I was diagnosed, my mother and my older sister were both experiencing enough symptoms that they were being fitted for pacemakers. We don’t deserve to suffer, but we can’t avoid it. Affliction comes whether we deserve it or not. My life began again. While I did not dwell on it, I was faced with the possibility that I might not make 41. Even though I was not put on medication or dietary restrictions, I began to be more careful in my choices, and my world began to shrink. I have always had an abiding sense that God will provide for me, but I began to fear unknowns in a new way. I spent a great deal of energy worrying and fearing and praying. God’s steadfast love is the creative rule that spawns new beginnings. At 35 I participated in a research study to assess my risk of sudden death and was told I had such a low risk it should not concern me. I awoke to a new day. It was as if God had answered my prayers by creating in me the kernel of a new world. God set my heart on this: my disease is real, but my fear is a choice. In your life, you may not have the kind of dramatic awakening I had, and I pray that if you do, it might be for a healthier reason than mine. But either way, God’s steadfast love is always there for you, the kernel of a new world, the foundation of a new beginning. SCRIPTURE: Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22 (NRSV) O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those he redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. Some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities endured affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress; he sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind. And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices, and tell of his deeds with songs of joy. By Paul Keim, professor at Goshen College
Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: Had Jesus not used the image of the serpent in the wilderness as a metaphor of the resurrection (John 3:14-15), Christians may have been inclined to neglect the story entirely. In this story, Moses fashions a glittering saraph and lifts it up with a pole so that the impatient people, plagued by poisonous snakes, can look and be healed. This act evokes disturbing images of ancient animal worship and magical healing rites. The report that king Hezekiah eventually destroys Nehushtan as an idolatrous object (2 Kings 18:4), despite its Mosaic provenance, confirms our ambivalence and turns our assumptions about the way God works topsy turvy. Even if God is pure spirit (belied by a host of biblical metaphors), our encounters with the holy are always physical. We touch the divine through the mundane – sensing the boundless tangibility of the cosmos, straining against the limitations of timing and spacing. We create shrines wherever our awe is especially intense and stock them with ritual objects that help us focus our attention, deepen our reflection and reconstitute our commonality. We throw our bodies into worship and service, inspired and sustained by those precious accoutrements of religious devotion. Like Job, we bear our vexation and our vindication in the flesh. Beloved, do not despise the earth or any earthly thing, least of all each other. We are not just vessels containing a divine spark, we are creatures (‘adam) taken from and returned to the life-giving soil (‘adamah). The bodily resurrection of Jesus would make little sense to a disembodied race. So lift up the bronze serpent. And lift each other up, as that precious, broken body was lifted, lowered, raised. SCRIPTURE: Numbers 21:4-9 (NRSV) From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live. By Jenae Longenecker, a freshman at Goshen College
Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: As I was walking through the Art Institute of Chicago a few weeks ago, I came upon a painting of a woman lying down in a bed. She was positioned in what could have been mistaken, by a hasty glance, as a romantic pose. But upon closer examination, the sunlight coming in from the painted window illuminated this woman’s posture as one of defiance, anger, brokenness and shame. She was lying somewhat haphazardly. On the bedside table was a collection of empty bottles. And yet the artist captured her expression at the moment when the light from the window landed on her. The light illuminates the contours of her face and makes her brokenness look absolutely beautiful. We use the metaphor of light and darkness to talk about God fairly often. Typically, the darkness is vilified. In a raw, emotional way, that makes sense. As children, we are often afraid of the dark. And even as adults, we don’t like it when our ability to make sense of the world around us is taken away. But maybe it’s not that simple. As an artist, I have come to love the shadows. They bring depth to our images, they ground us. The shadows are so human. This week’s theme is “the light enters the world.” It’s a complicated statement. It’s not “the light makes the darkness go away forever,” which would perhaps be easier to understand. It’s not even “the light overcomes the darkness.” Even if sunlight is the metaphorical God, the darkness doesn’t disappear. The shadows are, as I said before, so human. We know, especially as we reflect during this season of Lent, that the world is full of suffering and chaos and that much of that is caused by humanity. But even in our most painful moments, when we lie like the woman in bed, we can be illuminated. We know that the existence of God doesn’t make suffering go away. Instead, the light is entering the world. It’s showing us the shapes and colors and the joys and sorrows. The light is what allows us to see our humanity. By Joelle Friesen, a student at Goshen College
Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: Jesus points to the ways of peace. His life and ministry powerfully demonstrate love of neighbor and wholly living in faith. But Jesus did not sit and watch the unjust practices of the world strengthen until they became the norm. He was never apathetic about transgressions against self, other or God. He did not avoid conflict out of fear of being perceived as a troublemaker or disturbing the calm. When faced with injustice, Jesus took action. We often shy away from the clearing of the temple account, afraid that it contradicts pacifist values, afraid of a Jesus for whom making peace may include righteous anger. Or perhaps we give this story no more than a cursory glance, categorizing it as an anomaly in the actions of Christ, out of fear that it calls us. It demands that we also take action when faced with wrong in this world, with situations that deny our God who loves and welcomes all unconditionally. This story challenges us to confront injustice out of love. It challenges us to do our part to dismantle systems of oppression, to destroy our preconceived notions of what (and who) is holy, and to break down barriers of inequality. There is a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to wait patiently and a time to stand up and lovingly proclaim that we will follow the model of a Christ who actively loved all, turning this world upside down and inside out. May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor. ~ Franciscan benediction SCRIPTURE: John 2:13-22 (NRSV) The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for 46 years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. By Andrew Hartzler, associate professor at Goshen College
Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: The passage for today’s reflection from I Corinthians is jam-packed with truths that are life changing. The truth it contains that has been most impactful to me is what it highlights about God’s plan for human faith. The text pits human wisdom against what it calls the “foolishness” of the message of the cross. It is fascinating to me that it was God’s plan that our belief in our Creator would not be borne out of our own human wisdom and understanding; rather it would instead require a genuine step of faith. Our challenge as those who have taken the step of faith to believe in the message of the cross is to relinquish control of our lives to God. We too often believe that we have the power to make things happen by the force of our will or efforts. We believe things will not get done “without us.” We believe that we are indispensable. The reality is that God is the one with all the power and wisdom, and we are weak and fragile. When we rely on our own wisdom, we deny the power of God, thinking that we know better. We in effect take on the place of God, and in our pride fail to humbly yield to God his rightful place. Isaiah 29:16 (NRSV) points out the flaw in this way of thinking and highlights our Lenten theme (“upside down and inside out”), noting: “You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay? Shall the thing made say of its maker, “He did not make me,” or the thing formed say of the one who formed it, “He has no understanding?” When I have fully grasped this truth, that my wisdom, my power and my abilities are not enough to produce lasting peace, I have recognized that humbling myself before God requires a daily admission of my need and of my lack of understanding. When I can I cast my burdens on my Savior, the peace comes rushing in. God can handle it, he is in the business of bearing burdens and his resources are limitless. Prayer: Lord Jesus, I admit my weakness, my lack of wisdom, my lack of understanding, and my need for you each and every day. Fill me with your peace, with your love, with your compassion, with your mercy, and with your grace. Thank you for being a relational God on whom I can cast my burdens daily. SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (NRSV) For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. By Paul Zehr, a junior at Goshen College
Reprinted from Lenten Devotions DEVOTIONAL: The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” Psalm 19:7 (NIV) When I think about simplicity, I am reminded of my childhood. Not only did I have less inhibitions and worries, but I grew up in an environment that valued the simple. At a very young age, I began attending a summer camp in the Adirondacks. There was a lot of swimming, hiking and singing that was done with the intention of worshipping God on the home field – Creation. My parents and the staff there taught me to appreciate nature and God’s presence in it. The first part of today’s verse reminds me of life. “Reviving” often means giving life to something that lacks it. This connects me to how spring brings life out of the death of winter. And, in other ways, we see this same thing in all the seasons. Today’s passage calls the Lord’s statutes and laws “perfect” and “trustworthy,” reminding me of nature’s systems and how they exist and seem to work quite smoothly even when my human mind cannot conceive why. We have a lot to learn about God through nature. The seasons come and go as do our joys and sorrows. Winter storms are deadly but decorate the air and ground most beautifully. Death and decay are life processes, occurring regularly, but so are birth and renewal. In the same way, God changes and yet is constant. When we next look at a songbird, a fallen tree or a patch of green earth amidst the snow, I hope we can find it in ourselves to think upon what God might be revealing about The Divine through creation. It is indeed simple, but perhaps, as the psalmist writes, we are made wise through it. I often find myself in awe as I walk quietly through the Adirondack woods. I am not sure if what I hear is the trickling of a creek or something more. Either way, I am grateful for the quiet Spirit that I find there and the things I might learn from it. SCRIPTURE: Psalm 19:7 (NRSV) The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple; |
Chad Hill
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April 2015
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