Catalyst Question

What words come to mind when you think of Lent?

Confession and Protest

In Luke 13:31-35, we hear Jesus lament about Jerusalem. It’s quite an odd thing for the Messiah of Israel to lament about Israel’s capital. How strange for the Son of God to weep over the city of God. Yet, it’s Jesus’ love for Jerusalem, for God, and for God’s people that leads him to cry out. Simply put, Jesus is saying that Jerusalem is not living up to its promises. Rather than be a city where the voice of God is welcome, the religious leaders oppress the prophets that speak God’s word. Instead of celebrating God’s presence, the political elite fear it. When Jesus laments over Jerusalem, it comes from a place of love–even of hope–rather than a place of hatred.

Another way to think about this passage is a protest. By naming the difference between Jerusalem’s ideals and Jerusalem’s actions, Jesus protests the difference between the two. Since our primary practice in Lent is to confess sin, it’s not common to consider protest as a practice of the season. Yet, consider that the goal of protest and the goal of confession are both to seek reconciliation. They seek to restore the ideals of life for all people. Confession primarily calls for personal accountability and behavior change, while protest primarily calls for social accountability and behavior change.

Consider the recent marches on International Women’s Day. The goal of these demonstrations was to confront the injustices of things like violence against and exploitation of women, as well as our cultural acceptance of these sins. Similar protests have arisen to defend justice for immigrants in countries across the globe, to name the injustices of war, and more. Such confrontations seek to end the negative behaviors and restore healthy relationships. Like Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem, these cries come from a place of love, even hope, that this confrontation will one day end with restored relationships.

To be clear, protest and confession aren’t the same thing. Instead, this Lent, we should consider what kind of sins protests seek to expose, because Lent is a time of confrontation. We’re confronted by sin, both our own and others. We’re confronted with ruptured relationships. We’re confronted the need for change. Fortunately, in Jesus, God confronts us with both justice and love. Not only do we come face to face with sin, but in Jesus, we also come face to face with forgiveness and a path to reconciliation. Throughout Lent, we will journey further along that path that leads us through death and into the abundant life of Christ.

Ask Yourself

What kinds of sin are keeping you separated from God and from other people? This Lent, consider how confronting those sins can lead to restored relationships.

Ask a Friend

What are the similarities and differences you notice between confession and protest?

Catalyst Question

Name three things that you’re able to do but should not do. Why don’t you do them?

Fasting for Others

Lent this year begins with Ash Wednesday on March 5th. If you’ve heard of Lent before, you might have encountered the practice of fasting. To fast is to temporarily stop doing something you’re normally allowed to do, like eating sweets or red meat. The purpose of fasting, according to the Rev. Dr. Anne Burghardt, is not just personal sacrifice but also to increase our understanding of others’ needs. Rev. Dr. Burghardt, the General Secretary of The Lutheran World Federation, reminded listeners in a recent sermon that the purpose of fasting is to turn us outward: toward God and toward others.

This Sunday’s reading from Luke 4:1-13 records Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. The Devil tempts Jesus with things that he is able to do, but each time, Jesus avoids the temptation with a focus on God. Rather than take up power in order to serve his own needs, Jesus turns his focus outward. While his responses in this passage focus on God, Jesus’ external emphasis includes both God and others throughout his entire ministry. Throughout his life, Jesus shows us that, by fasting, we can expand our focus in ways celebrate God and serve God’s people. Fasting isn’t a diet or exercise regime meant only for your benefit. Fasting should be a practice that doesn’t just change our behaviors, but changes our relationships, all for the better.

This Lent, consider adopting a fast that puts positive attention on other people. If you give up a food, consider how you can share food with others. If you give up a hobby, consider how you might spend intentional time with others. If you give up buying things, consider how you might give generously to others.

Ask Yourself

If I choose to fast, how will I focus that practice focuses on God and others, rather than myself alone?

Ask a Friend

What are the Lenten practices you’ve experienced that helped you better connect with God or others? If you’ve not practiced Lent before, what changes have you made in your life to create better relationships?

Catalyst Question

Describe a time when something out of your control was happening in your life. What did it feel like?

A God We Can’t Control

People often like to feel in control. Sometimes that’s for their own sinful reasons, like wanting unfair influence over others’ lives. At other times, people try to take charge because they’ve been hurt by someone they trusted.  And surely, there are things in our lives that we should control. How we treat other people, how we choose to use money, and how we spend our time are all appropriately within our control.

This week, there’s something going on in the sky that’s majestically out of our control. All across the world, all official planets within our solar system (sorry, Pluto) can be seen in a planetary parade. The best night to view across the globe is February 28th, and even five of the planets can be seen without a telescope.This astronomical wonder reveals both the expansiveness and the closeness of the heavens. Not only is it a rare and beautiful experience to witness, but it also highlights how fortunate we are. The laws of physic, far beyond our control, keep these planetary bodies in safe orbit around the sun in ways that both support and protect life on Earth. None of this is in our control, and yet it is good.

Luke 9:28-36 tells of a time when the disciples tried to control Jesus, along with Moses and Elijah. Often called The Transfiguration, because Jesus transforms in front of them, the story reveals that Jesus is beyond their control. Rather than contained in houses, or temples, instead Jesus shines brightly for all the world to see. In a voice from heavens beyond even our solar system, God affirms this independence from human control.

Yet, though we cannot control him, Jesus is good to us and good for us. Indeed, Jesus is God with us. As you read about The Transfiguration, consider these questions:

Ask Yourself

When have you tried to control something in your life and realized that, even though you couldn’t control it, it was still good for you?

Ask a Friend

How might it be good for us that God is beyond human control?

Catalyst Question

How do you define the word “mercy”?

Mercy Meant for Today

This devotion is based on The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). A lectionary is a set of scripture readings assigned to different days throughout the year. Right now, we’re in the third year (known as Year C) of the RCL’s three-year cycle, which was assembled in 1983 by leaders of many denominations. That’s important background because, today, many congregational leaders are being accused of manipulating the biblical selections for worship to fit their own political or social agendas. If the congregation is using the Revised Common Lectionary, that’s simply not the case. These scriptures have been assigned to February 23, 2025 since before most millennials were born.

In the Gospel for this Sunday (Luke 6:27-38), Jesus speaks of many topics that challenge prevailing logic in the United States over the past month or so. In the face of political partisanship, racism, sexism, and economic oppression, Jesus says, “love your enemies.” In the face of funding cuts for programs that support the most at-risk citizens in our country, Jesus says “give to everyone who begs from you, and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.” When these words appear on Sunday, it’s not evidence that your preacher brought an agenda into the pulpit. It’s not hinting of some conspiracy to undermine the current administration. They’re simply the words destined for this Sunday for decades.

This also includes the simple phrase from Jesus, “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” That’s profoundly relevant today because the works of mercy that Lutherans have carried out for hundreds of years are now at risk. The move to freeze or remove congressionally-approved funding is not only legally dubious. It is at odds with Christ’s teachings. Fortunately, as the linked article indicates, Lutheran social service organizations are not backing down from this work of mercy. Instead, following the witness of Christ, they’re doubling down on the work of mercy and advocating that others do the same. Just as Jesus calls us to do.

It is dreadfully difficult to be merciful in such divisive times. Yet, remember that Jesus taught in a similar time. Rather than in relative peace, Jesus lived under Roman occupation. Jesus spoke out against religious and politic corruption. Jesus’ own faith community was divided into many factions. Though 2,000 years old, these words are very much meant for days like today. Especially now, we need mercy in all its forms–generosity, love, forgiveness, and the like. Rather than accidentally occurring or deviously manipulated, perhaps the Holy Spirit moved in 1983. Perhaps God knew, in a country with growing inequality, that we’d need the same words of mercy that spoke into similar divides in past millennia. It just might be that God knew we needed to lead with mercy in such a time as this.

Ask Yourself

What is the hardest part of Jesus teaching today for you to put into practice? Why is that?

Ask a Friend

How can we be more merciful and help others to understand the need for mercy in times like these?

Catalyst Question

Who is the most famous person you’ve met? Share the story of how it happened.

God Among Us

Luke 6:17-26 recalls a time when Jesus taught crowds about blessings and woes. It’s a striking teaching because, in it, Jesus challenged his listeners’ standard way of thinking. Are you experiencing things that people typically consider negative, like hunger, poverty, sadness, and social rejection? Soon you will experience God’s blessing. Are you experiencing wealth, popularity, satisfaction, or laughter in this current culture? Then you will be troubled by the new world that is coming with God’s reign. Not right at this moment, but change is on its way.

What’s even more striking about this is the staging.

Jesus “came down with them and stood on a level place.” In other words, Jesus taught from within the crowd rather than a place of privilege. The Creator of the Universe stood among, rather than above, its creatures. The one named Emmanuel, God with us, chose once again to be with the people in the midst of their needs.

At this halfway point of Black History Month, it’s good to remember that the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement also chose to be among the people they led and taught. Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t just speak on Washington Mall, but also in Southern country churches. John Lewis didn’t just lead from Congress but from joined in demonstrations on public busses. Ella Baker organized at the local level to boost voter registration. So many others, from Fannie Lou Hamer to Bayard Rustin to Andrew Young and more, worked with people at their own level. These leaders reflected Christ not only because they sought the equity promised by Jesus in this Sermon on the Plain. They reflected Christ because they followed his lead and led from among the people. With that leadership model, they followed Jesus in changing the world.

Christ-like leaders don’t lord their power over subjects or make unilateral decisions without care for the impacts on the poorest among us. Christ-like leaders live life among the people and lead in ways that prepare us all for the new world of God’s reign where all share in God’s blessings. Let us look to Christ, then go and do likewise.

Ask Yourself

Name three leaders who lead like Jesus in this story and three who don’t. Who has the most power in society? Why do you think that is?

Ask a Friend

Who is a leader that you follow? How do they remind you of Jesus, if at all?