Tuesday, March 5

Jeremiah 7:21-34
Psalm 78
Romans 4:13-25
John 7:37-52

Today’s readings, or at least three of the four, have a theme of foreboding, of warning, which given our time in the Lenten calendar is appropriate.  The writer of the 78th Psalm tells us he will be speaking in parables (hmm…who does that sound like?) and then proceeds to retell the story of the ancestors’ willful missteps from the time of Moses up to the time of David.  Jeremiah stands at the door of Solomon’s Temple and shouts out to the people that they might as well just take all that meat they are sacrificing and eat it, because they are breaking so many of Yahweh’s laws that their sacrifices are not going to matter.  And Jesus is wrapping up one of his first very controversial lecture series at the Feast of the Tabernacles, bringing many to the faith…and causing the chief priests and the Pharisees to begin their fear and distrust in him to grow.

For those of us who love Paul, the fourth reading is a relatively (if uncharacteristically) gentle explanation to his fellow Romans about the concept of faith.  Perhaps there was a more common understanding of the story of Abraham and how he came to be a father at such a great age, that he is the focus of this example of true faith.  He speaks of the fact that even though Abraham and Sarah were so incredibly old, that they believed that God/Yahweh could make happen what he promised, which was counted to them as faith.  Paul neatly ties this faith righteousness to those who choose to believe that Jesus is Lord and was raised from the dead for us all.

I encourage you to read these readings – the Weeping Prophet, the Psalmist of Asaph, the Beloved, and Paul – we are reminded (or should be) that our lives and our actions and our true intentions all have consequences; some that are mete in this life, and some that will be mete in the next. 

“…so the next generation would know the, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would be their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.”   Psalm 78:6-7

Peace!

Vicki Cravens

Monday, March 4

Jeremiah 7:1-15

Psalms 77, 79, 80

Romans 4:1-12

John 7:14-36

“…make your face to shine upon us that we may be saved.”

- Psalm 77

The psalmist’s cry in the midst of his frustration and despair, the chorus of the psalm, is that the Lord God would shine His face upon the people in order that they might be delivered and restored from their troubles.  The image that is written on my heart when I hear this refrain is one of an adoring father looking lovingly at his young child.  He is filled with so much love and joy that his face shines, and, in return, the child’s face shines, too.

The psalmist does not come to God with a list of requests, as I so often do.  He does not ask God for this or that.  The psalmist reminds us that all we truly need is to look to the face of our adoring Father.

“The Lord bless you, and keep you:

The Lord make his face to shine upon you,

and be gracious unto you:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you,

and give you peace.”

Laura Nachtigall

Faculty, Holy Spirit Episcopal School

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

Sunday, March 3                

Jeremiah 6:9-15

Psalms 34, 93, 95, 96

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Mark 5:1-20

 Corinthians 6 (12-20)

"I am not going to let anything make me its slave."

Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians to deal with problems of faith and morality that had arisen in the church at Corinth.  Corinth was a Greek city, the capital of the Roman province of Achaia and home to a variety of religions.  A city much like the Houston of today, cosmopolitan, prosperous, diverse, and a variety of beliefs.  Our problems are also much the same, matters of conscience.

This letter has some of my favorite passages of Paul's writings and some of my least favorites.  In chapter 6 the line "I am not going to let anything make me its slave" is as thought provoking today as it was in Paul's time.  We are all guilty of being slaves to something in this day of speed and technology; our cars, cell phones, computers, TV etc.  Most of us could not go forty days without our electronic gadgets.  We would argue that we need these to meet our responsibilities, to get to work, pay our bills, keep in touch with our families and so on.  It is hard for us to sacrifice and we find reasons why we cannot.

This Lenten season let us remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us and spend less time with technology and more time with the good news.

Susan Montgomery

Saturday, March 2

Jeremiah 5:20-31

Psalms 23, 27, 75, 76

Romans 3:19-31

John 7:1-13

 Psalm 23

Of all my readings for this date, I tried to avoid Psalm 23, as it is one of the most memorized and well-known psalms.  I thought I should focus on one of the others, that would perhaps speak out to people as not so memorable (or forgotten) verses, but God kept drawing me back to the 23rd Psalm.

As children, many of us learned this from the King James version, starting with, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want."  My Living Bible, given to me by a dear friend from EYC many years ago, says, "Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need!"  Both are so true, and the last five words "I have everything I need" are some that all of us in today's society need to remember more often.  In this day of virtually weekly improved phones, cameras, TV's, and all types of other consumer products, it's easy to get hyped up to want the latest, greatest, just as all the "Joneses" in our lives seem to have.  Most of our kids see the well-written and acted ads on TV, find out a friend at school has the same item, and suddenly they can't live without it (or so they claim).

Each time I start to feel down about some minor inconvenience, or think I have had a bad day, I turn the corner to see someone in much worse shape, who would be thrilled to step into my shoes, troubles and all.   As a child, I thought the verse about the "valley of the shadow of death" was literally about being close to death of the human body.  Now I realize it's referring to those times in our lives when we feel we are at the lowest point, and don't know how we will recover and move forward.  "You are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way."  If we can take deep breaths, remember God's constant presence, and continue to pray, we will make it through and be fine.

"Your goodness and unfailing kindness shall be with me all my life ..."

Psalm 23, verse 6

In His Name,

Anne Vachon

Friday, March 1

Jeremiah 5:1-9

Psalms 69, 73

Romans 2:25-3:18

John 5:30-47

Today’s readings sound like a dialogue between humans and God deciding that if humans and their faith are imperfect and if God is the only one who is perfect why bother trying?  I should not be surprised when I find passages in the Bible that sound like they could come out of today’s news!  Here are a few examples and what I found encouraging for a 2013 Houston community.

Jeremiah’s passage found no wise humans among the common people or their leaders (this definitely could have been written in this century), while in the Psalms the writer is calling out to God to deliver him while he is an outcast and hopes his faith will be rewarded.  Hope prevails in the Psalm of Asaph goes on being faithful in Psalm 73:

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

27 Those who are far from you will perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.

I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;

I will tell of all your deeds.

Going on in the New Testament, both in Romans and John, they question human’s faithfulness, or lack of it.

Romans 2:25-3:18

3 What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? 4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written:

Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!

The final question asked in John gives me thought for this Lent:

John 5:30-47

44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

This Lent, I will continue to be faithful even though I know I am imperfect and to seek glory that comes only from God through Jesus.  One thing I can be sure, is that I know I won’t be alone or the last one!

Eleanor Sheldon