Lenten Meditation: Encountering Jesus

Day 1 | February 18

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.”

—Psalm 51: 10-12

The non-apology apology is a statement that is offered as an apology but fails to express true regret or to take responsibility for having done something wrong. These non-apologies have become pervasive in politics and business, yet we all have formed them: “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, but if I did…” “It’s regrettable that our relationship ended this way…” If you’ve ever received one of these apologies, you know how empty it sounds.

Likewise, when we have done wrong, we are constantly tempted to come before a God who is full of redeeming love and give a non-apology apology. But in Psalm 51:10-12, we have David’s prayer as a model to recognize our sinfulness, show repentance and accept a renewed life. With these three verses, we can avoid the temptation to offer a non-apology apology to God. We can face the truth about ourselves and our relationship with God, because we know that God’s grace is free, abundant, and available to all. Our hearts/thoughts are made clean, we move forward with God’s loving and merciful presence again in our hearts/minds, and we return to a joyful spirit and sing praises for the work God has done in our life.

Prayer:

Almighty and everlasting God,

you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent.

Create in us new and contrite hearts that we may receive your forgiveness,

Amen.

—Nancy Curry

Day 2 | February 19

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

—Isaiah 58: 6-7

We fast because Jesus and the Disciples taught us to, and it’s a way to remember the abundance of God’s grace in our lives. Fasting brings us solidarity with a hurting, hungry world and is an opportunity for intentional, meaningful prayer. In this passage, Isaiah is calling out to Israel to let their fast be out of love for God and the world instead of a selfish way of proving themselves to God. In Isaiah 58:3, Israel asks “Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice,” and Isaiah answers, “Look, you serve your own interests on your fast day and oppress all your workers.” We do not and should never fast to bring others down, have God to ourselves, or to prove something to our ever-loving God. We should let God’s love for us pour out through us unto the world to feed the hungry, house the homeless, and cover the naked. Later in this passage, we hear words our world desperately needs: “Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am.” Take heart in these comforting words and all of Isaiah 58 as we turn away from ourselves, towards God, and towards a renewed world.

Prayer:

Lord, we ask that you make your ever-loving presence around us known, and call out to us “Here I am”. In this time of Lent, let us remember when we fast, it is not for our own pleasure but to draw closer to you. Help us to remember the hope you bring to our hurting world and the positive change we can bring as a church and ourselves. Bestow unto us a steady and grateful heart for the many gifts we have, knowing we are free to lift up and love thy neighbor.

Amen

—Joshua Rodkey

Day 3 | February 20

Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slw to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.—Joel 2: 12-13

The Book of Joel was written at the time of a devasting plague of locusts, causing mass famine. Important to the author, not only were people starving, but the plague also destroyed the offerings of grain and wine the people would have made at the temple.

Joel reminds us that outward repentance – rendering of garments (and perhaps displays of public offerings), while acceptable, are not the repentance called for. Instead, God seeks heartfelt contrition, acknowledging one’s own failings and genuinely seeking redemption.

More importantly, Joel offers hope, assuring us that the Lord is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. This message is so powerful that it appears on Ash Wednesday in all three years of the Lectionary cycle and is prominently sung in Mendelssohn’s Elijah.

As we begin our journey through Lent, this passage reminds us to focus on sincere reflection and penitence, and never to forget that far from being vengeful, our God is loving and merciful. We should aspire to be the same – living with grace, compassion, humility, and kindness towards all people, just as God offers such abounding love freely to us.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we open our hearts to you and earnestly seek your forgiveness. We thank you for your unending gracious love and your constant presence through the days of our lives. Remind us always to show kindness and compassion, and grant us a thirst for justice, so that we may be fitting disciples of your loving presence.

Amen.

—Karen Peck

Day 4 | February 21

So, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

—2 Corinthians 5: 20-21

I am so glad being an ambassador for Christ doesn’t require Senate confirmation. Not just because those sessions look absolutely awful, but also because if it did, I’m not sure I’d get enough votes to land the job. When Paul tells the Christians at Corinth that he was an ambassador for Christ, he meant it in the fullest sense of the word: a personal representative of a ruler or sovereign, a delegate from an entire country. In this role, he is writing to the Corinthians and pleading with them to be reconciled to God. It’s a big job, but a necessary one.

On paper, Paul wouldn’t have passed muster in the Senate, either: after all, he’d actively persecuted the Church before his conversion on the road to Damascus. But God’s grace led him to new ways of seeing, new ways of loving, and God used Paul to spread the message of reconciliation. You and I may not be called to Paul’s particular work, but we’re all invited into this ministry, too. We can serve as ambassadors for Christ in our homes, our workplaces, our schools. No matter who we are, no matter what our stories are, God’s grace has blessed us just like it blessed Paul. How might God be calling you to serve as an ambassador for Christ in the world today?

Prayer:

O Lord, we are so grateful for the way you have reconciled us to yourself. During this season of reflection and repentance, help us to see the ways we need to change in order to live into your reconciliation more deeply, and help us to understand how we can better represent you to all those we meet. We pray this in the name of Jesus, our Sovereign. Amen.

—Trey Burns

Day 5 | February 22

Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely having been reconciled will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned – sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law.

—Romans 5: 9-13

As a long-time lay reader I have become accustomed to Paul’s labyrinthine language in presenting his theology, but the long sentences and infrequent periods are challenging. In the passage immediately prior to today’s reading Paul notes the interconnectedness of suffering, endurance, character and hope.

In verse 9 he proclaims how “much more surely” we have been justified and reconciled through our Lord Jesus Christ. Commentators note the transition from being "justified by faith" to living a life defined by peace, hope, and the indwelling love of God.

Theologian Karl Barth invites us to stop staring at the shadow of death and turn toward the Light of Christ. We often view Adam’s fall as the primary "truth" of the human condition, with Christ as the solution. In teaching the practice of Contemplative Prayer, Father Thomas Keating wrote frequently of the “False self” (as modeled by the fall of Adam) and the “True self” (as modeled by Christ).

It is easy to be distracted by sin and our need for forgiveness when seeking God’s grace. Instead, we would do well to look at the "Much More" of Jesus. In Him, we see that God’s "Yes" to humanity is older, deeper, and more final than our "No."

Prayer:

O God,

We come before You with humbled hearts, standing in awe of the depth of Your love. We thank You that while we were still distant, You brought us near.

Help us to not only look to the future but to rejoice in your prevenient grace right now, thankful for the reconciliation we have received through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

—Brad Harmes

Day 6 | February 23

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in that day that you eat of it you shall die.”

—Genesis 2: 15-17

God reminds us that sin is a powerful temptation. Before the fall, Adam lived in blissful and peaceful ignorance in the Garden. After eating from the tree, God expelled Adam from the Garden and Adam endured the consequences of his actions.

While eating of the fruit ultimately burdened Adam and his descendants, we may use the knowledge of good and evil today to bring the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth. Christ’s sacrifice redeemed us and gave us the opportunity to follow Him down a new path.

John Wesley once preached, “the great end of religion is to renew our hearts in the image of God, to repair that total loss of righteousness and true holiness which we sustained by the sin of our first parent.” Let us give our lives to the God that saved us and dedicate ourselves to bettering the broken world that we inherited.

Prayer:

Lord God,

Be with us as we give our hearts to you, so that we may be transformed by your amazing grace. Let us strive to love You and our neighbor, so that this world may be transformed in your image. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

—Mark Keplinger

Day 7 | February 24

Therefore, just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

—Romans 5: 18-19

Those of a certain age may remember the magical station wagons of the 1970’s – free from the encumbrances of seatbelts, airbags and fuel efficiency. My siblings and I sat in the jump seat; faces pressed against the back window staring directly at the drivers behind us. Miles away in the front seat, our parents grooved to an 8-track, all of us blissfully unaware of the other group. Until we were. Scorched from the vinyl seats and limited space, the three of us often argued. It was then our dad would yell, “Hey! Cut it out! You kids get along or you’ll ____fill in the blank dire consequence.”

In today’s reading, Paul writes to the church in Rome. Amidst chaos of changing rulers, expulsion, reunification and shifting traditions, the Jewish and Gentile believers fought and struggled to live as one family in Christ. Instead of reaching from the front seat to threaten the followers, Paul makes a case for unity by inviting an unlikely pair of passengers in the family wagon.

Paul discusses how Adam’s one act of disobedience with God caused sin, our separation from God and condemnation for all. Moving on to Jesus, Paul discusses His act of obedience with God resulted in our righteousness and eternal life. One man’s disobedience separated us; the other’s obedience restores us.

Despite all our arguments on myriad issues, Paul reminds us of our commonalities — a broken and sinful heritage with Adam and opportunity for salvation through Jesus.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father,

Even though one man’s disobedience brought condemnation, I thank You, God, that Jesus’ obedience brings righteousness and life. Thank you for allowing us to exchange our sin for your grace.

When I fixate on differences and label others as “outsiders,” I know I am distancing myself from you. Please reshape my heart toward those who think differently from me, even when it feels uncomfortable. Help me pursue reconciliation, forgiveness, and mercy, because that is when I am truly walking in unity with you. Amen

—Courtney Pope

Day 8 | February 25

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”

—John 4: 13-14

Today’s meditation and scripture focuses on Jesus’ promise that the living water he gives will satisfy us eternally, unlike ordinary water that only temporarily quenches our thirst. In this passage, we find ourselves at the well in Samaria with Jesus. Tired, hungry and thirsty from his journey, Jesus rests at the well. A Samaritan woman comes to draw water from the well and finds Jesus resting. Jesus asked the woman for a drink, and she was taken back as Jews did not associate with Samaritans. She replied, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman, how can you ask me for a drink?” Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who was asking, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman begins to question who God is and Jesus answers with the exchange recorded in John.

The encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman is significant because we see Jesus breaking through cultural barriers to offer spiritual renewal through him. Jesus tells the woman that those who seek earthly water will never satisfy their thirst, but those who seek the living water that can only come through him, will always be satisfied. Living water is a symbol of eternal life through belief in God and provides constant fulfillment of our spiritual thirst.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, we are thankful for the promise of eternal life through you. May we always draw from the spring of living water that lives within us, bubbling and overflowing, always fulfilling our spiritual thirst and reminding us daily of this promise. May we seek to welcome strangers and friends alike to also share in the good news of the living water, so that they too may be filled through you. Amen.

—Beth Anne Gunn

Day 9 | February 26

The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the son of God command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God,’ “

—Matthew 4: 3-4

The context for this passage from Matthew's Gospel finds Jesus in the wilderness probably somewhere near the Dead Sea. He had gone to that area to be baptized by John the Baptist. John was "old school", spending much of his time in the wilderness, perhaps as a member of the Essenes in the Qumran Community. Many people came to the wilderness to be baptized by John and repent of sins, ready to lead a more sacred purposeful life. Jesus came to identify with the people and as a way of beginning his ministry.

As Jesus spends forty days in the wilderness after his baptism, on his mind would have been the experience of his baptism and the interaction with the others there. This is a time of reflection for Jesus as to how he would understand his sense of calling compared to others he has just seen. He would not be only a law keeper nor a compromiser nor an ascetic. He also would reject miraculous demonstrations (stone to bread) as a way to live out his calling, not that he would reject that altogether, nor would he be unconcerned about the real hunger of people. His ministry would be far more comprehensive. It would be about justice and mercy, concern for the physical body as well as spiritual hunger, a rejection of evil and the embracing of love, about "every word that comes from the mouth of God". In our own wilderness discernment may we follow Jesus by affirming his way in relationship to God and neighbor: justice and mercy, physical hunger and spiritual hunger, rejection of evil and embracing of love.

Prayer:

Oh God, in this Lenten Season, lead us to a lifestyle that reflects "every word that comes from the mouth of God". Amen

—Jim Bankston

Day 10 | February 27

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David – that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.

—2 Timothy 2:8-10

Today, we find ourselves in 2 Timothy. Despite his difficult circumstances while in prison, throughout this letter, Paul urges Timothy to remain steadfast in his faith, to cling to his godly heritage and calling. Verse 8 urges us to remember God's plan and intentionality. The first mention of God’s promise of salvation, or the Gospel, appears in Genesis 3: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” This promise from God states that there will be a struggle between humans and our sin after the fall; a savior would crush sin, even though sin would try to defeat Jesus; darkness does not have the final word.

The second part of this scripture highlights Paul's own spiritual struggle. He mentions his bond to the Gospel has inadvertently placed him in his present situation. However, the word of God is not bound to a prison cell or one human soul. Paul knows the power of God, as revealed in the Gospel. He believes that everything he has done, from fearlessly proclaiming the Gospel despite persecution to writing this letter to Timothy, has been to pursue and to glorify God.

Prayer:

Gracious and intentional God, as we walk through this day and in the Lenten season, may we be image-bearers to reflect your love and purpose in our own lives. As you called Paul and Timothy into ministry to your early church, may we hear our calling to minister in our everyday lives. By our words may we proclaim The Gospel, our eyes to see you in the mundane, and our lungs be filled with your presence, so that our every breath praises your holy name.

—Camille Thrash

Day 11 | February 28

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “you will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So, when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

—Genesis 3:1-7

When I was working as a hospital chaplain at Duke, I was in the hall of an ICU unit with a physician. He was visibly angry as he said, “The patient expired! Do you know who I am? My patients don’t just expire!” I remember letting him continue to rage and wondering if I should tell him that his patients do in fact die because he was not God.

In his book, The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis says, “Someone or something whispered that they could become as gods…” This whispering did not end in the Garden of Eden. We are daily tempted to become gods of our own lives. That temptation comes in the form of believing that we control the future, of making ourselves the center of our own universe, and of self-assurance about our own correctness. But no matter what, the simile remains. We are like God, but we are never God. There is no corner of the universe where God is not. Total self-determination and autonomy is a myth. And yet — as Adam and Eve discover — this is good news because God cares for us better than we could ever care for ourselves. Fig leaves are turned into garments of skin — much more durable.

Prayer:

You are God, and I am not. For that, let me be thankful today. Help me to see the ways my own limitations are opportunities for your grace, and help me to resist those temptations to put myself in the center, to rest on my own achievements, or to believe that I am on my own. May you live and reign and work in me, with me, through me, and despite of me, Lord Christ. Amen.

—Brandi Horton

Day 12 | March 1

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

—Matthew 17: 1-9

In uncertain times, Jesus’ Transfiguration provides a future promise of ascension and an assurance that God has things well in hand, that our hope is founded in the One who is the Lord of all creation and who cares for us deeply. In no uncertain terms, the Father appears atop a mountain, as He once did for Moses, and proclaims the Sonship of Jesus. The sight proves too much for the disciples, and they must be told not to be afraid when confronted with the majestic power of the Divine. The same One who appears in the panoply of glory above them is the One who touches them gently, raises them to their feet, and reminds them that they have nothing to fear in the knowledge that they, too, are loved by God. The appearance of Moses and Elijah reminds us that Jesus stands in a line of the anointed of God; while the Savior’s mention of the coming resurrection reveals something new and climactic, bringing our attention back to the promise inherent in the vision of the Transfiguration.

Prayer:

Lord Almighty, remind me that you have power over all things and yet you concern yourself with and love even me. Let your promises be my comfort and my fortress against fear, let your example guide my feet as I walk in this world. Amen

—Justin Flint