"The Lenten Pilgrimage" - Day 14

Thursday, March 4th

      “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

                                                                                  

                                                                                                                  Luke 14:27

 

     Christian Discipleship has a cost.  There’s just no way around it.  Jesus walked the lonely road that led to his suffering and death on the cross.  He lived a life of self-sacrifice, forgiving those who wronged him, showing mercy to all and embodying unconditional love. 

      The Word made flesh, he is humanity’s perfect and beautiful embodiment of the mystery of redemptive suffering, the exemplar of what it means to be fully human.  

      To follow Jesus requires a willingness to journey into human suffering, seeking to be an agent of wholeness to the broken, a vehicle of hospitality to the outcast, a purveyor of light in the darkness.  We simply cannot ignore his command to be cross-bearers ourselves, attempting to chart a course more palatable to our taste, and call it authentic Christianity.  We are to carry our cross on behalf of others who are too weak to carry their's. 

       No-cost Christianity is not a thing! 

       During our 40 day spiritual sojourn to the Cross, today we ask ourselves a question:    What is the cost of my Christian Discipleship?

Prayer

     Lord Jesus, we long to be your disciples yet the cost of discipleship often seems more than

     we are willing, or able, to pay.  We desire to serve our neighbor with the kind of 

     sacrificial love that mirrors the love you displayed on the cross.  We want to embody

     your light, mercy, compassion and justice to the world.  We confess our self-centered

     tendencies, lamenting our propensity for spiritual pride and religious arrogance.  When 

     we ponder the cost of discipleship, we humbly repent in dust and ashes.  When we are 

     confronted by your unconditional love, we are reminded how much work still needs to 

     be done in our souls.  Teach us, Lord.  Guide us deeper into your truth.  Help us rightly 

     consider the cost of being your disciple and to gladly follow.  In your name we pray.  Amen. 

          

     

 "The Lenten Pilgrimage" - Day 13

Wednesday, March 3rd 

   “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?” 

                                                                                                                                  Matthew 7:3

     The Season of Lent calls us to engage in the inner work necessary for a life of righteousness and holiness.  Though a holy life is ultimately the result of God’s work in us, we are called to engage in those spiritual practices that can open our hearts to God’s renewing work in us.

      And it’s important for each of us to remember that our journey toward holiness requires a significant amount of self-awareness and honesty.  We are called to both conviction and confession.  Lent shines the light on those untended places in our own souls.  Our concern must be the problem of sin that remains in our own lives.

      In other words, our focus must not be the speck in our neighbor’s eye, but the sequoia lodged in our own. 

Prayer

     Dear Christ of the cross, humbly before you we bow.  Like every time before, we come to you now with empty hands.  We can make no claim to your grace, we are not entitled to receive your forgiveness.  All we have is you.  We place our hope and trust in you, walking in the assurance of your promises.  Indeed, we are sinners, poor and needy.  Help us to cast our gaze at the sin we harbor within us.  Free us from our tendency to judge others.  In your name we pray.  Amen.   

     

"The Lenten Pilgrimage" - Day 12

Tuesday, March 2nd

     “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you.  For this is the law and the prophets.”

                                                                                                                         Matthew 7:12

     Today, let's think about the simplicity of an authentic Christian witness.  Religion can be complex on a variety of levels.   Names in the Bible can be hard to pronounce.  The different theories of the Atonement can make your head spin.  Competing biblical interpretations, doctrinal disputes and passionate opposing opinions on hot button social issues can make it tempting to wave the white flag and just give up!  

      

     But at the heart of Christian teaching lies this very simple directive.  Even people outside the Christian faith know “The Golden Rule.”  

      Just treat people the way you’d like to be treated.  Be compassionate, understanding, patient and forgiving.  Show love and offer kindness.  Listen well to others.  Be respectful.  Value other people.  Show hospitality to strangers.  Don’t judge others.  Don’t believe yourself to be better than someone else.  Leave a big tip at the restaurant.  Be generous with your time, your talent and resources.  

       Today, just keep it simple.  The world should be a better place because you're a follower of Jesus!

Prayer

     Lord Jesus, help our words and actions be a faithful reflection of you.  As the Golden

     Rule is a fulfillment of the law and the prophets, may we be an embodiment of this 

     simple teaching which lies at the heart of an authentic Christian witness.  Enable us to 

     mirror your life of self-sacrificial love, so that we may be vehicles of your light, grace,

     mercy and compassion in the world.  In your holy name we pray.  Amen.  

      

 

"The Lenten Pilgrimage" - Day 11

Monday, March 1st

     “So, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.  Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

                                                                                                                            Matthew 6:34

     Here’s a good posture for the week.  Live each day well, one day at a time.  Be fully present in the moment.  Don’t live your life gazing romantically in the rear view mirror at the yesterday that’s been spent.  Don’t strain your neck trying to see what’s coming around tomorrow’s bend. Embrace the truth spoken by the Psalmist, “This is the  day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).  

      In the Book of Exodus, God sent manna in the wilderness for the Children of Israel to eat, instructing them to gather only as much as they needed for the day.  When some tried to stockpile extra, it bred worms and became foul. (Ex. 16:14-21)

     Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).  There is a divine truth at work here.  Learning to focus on the moment at hand, developing a posture of living fully in the day set before us, refusing to be imprisoned by the past or crippled by fear of the future, is a necessary work of the soul committed to trusting in the providential hand of God. 

       

     And this you know to be true:  Worry is not your friend!

Prayer

     Lord Jesus, your teaching brings life.  Still, we struggle to live into the wisdom of your words.  

     We confess our propensity for worrying, our manner of living in the past or imagining the 

     future while failing to live fully in the present moment.  During our spiritual pilgrimage to the 

     cross in these days of Lent, we seek to cultivate deeper levels of trust in your providential

     care.  Help us to heed your call to live this day, unfettered from yesterday's regrets and  

     tomorrow's fears.  May today's daily bread be sufficient manna for today.  In your holy name

     we pray.  Amen.  

      

  

      

      

The Lenten Pilgrimage - Day 10

Saturday, February 27th

     “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

                                                                                                                         Matthew 6:19-21

     

     How easy it is to spend one’s life in pursuit of the wrong kinds of things.  Easy, and tragic! 

 

     Perhaps we've all been guilty, at one time or another, of expending too much time and energy on temporal pursuits with limited results.  Or maybe we’ve had success and can boast  an impressive storehouse of temporal treasures, for which we’ve paid a high price. 

      In “The Sermon on the Mount”, Jesus teaches us to rethink the treasures worth pursuing, inviting us to consider what treasures are occupying our energies, and to reorient our lives away from temporal, and toward eternal treasures. 

      The things we most treasure are revealed by the greatest investment of our time and energy.   And the nature of our hearts will always be revealed by the things we treasure.

Prayer

   Christ of the cross, we confess that too often we have labored for the wrong things, pursuing 

   the allure of shiny temporal treasures that will eventually rust and decay.  Fill our hearts with

   a growing hunger for eternal treasures.  Help us to be wise in our discerning, that we might

   expend our time, talents and energy to pursue and embrace your eternal gifts that are 

   pure, life-giving and everlasting.  In your holy name we pray.  Amen. 

The Lenten Pilgrimage - Day 9
Friday, February 26th

     “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                               Matthew 5:20

     What we do matters!  What we do with what we’ve been given has consequences!  We are responsible for our response to Jesus’ teachings.  God expects us to bear good fruit.  Accountability its a biblical notion!

      We can’t complete an authentic Lenten journey without asking ourselves some hard questions.  Though we much prefer oohing and awing over Jesus gently holding a little lost lamb, we stunt our faith development if we refuse to recognize and acknowledge the convicting gaze of the Savior who seeks to pierce our soul, to expose and rid us of our sin.

     The Lenten Season pushes us to consider the kind of righteousness to which Jesus calls us, a righteousness not born of self-centered agenda in search of personal gain, but a selfless obedient righteousness motivated purely by love of God and love of neighbor.  While the scribes and Pharisees were adept at adhering to the letter of the law, Jesus was more interested in the law's intent.  And a passion for adhering to the intent of the law will always find its motivation in love. 

Prayer

   Lord Jesus, fill our hearts with love.  We confess how easy it is to limit our witness to the

   adherence of outer laws, while harboring attitudes in our hearts that are inconsistent with

   the intent of God's laws.  Teach us what it means to have a righteousness that exceeds

   hollow religious actions.  Help us to bear witness to your love in the love we freely offer to

   others.  As we journey through this season of Lent, continue to call us to live lives of

   righteousness and holiness, that we might bring glory and honor to you.  In your name we 

   pray.  Amen.   

 The Lenten Pilgrimage - Day 8

Thursday, February 25th 

     “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

                                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                Matthew 6:6       

     Do you have a prayer closet?  Is there a space rendered sacred from being bathed in prayer over the years?   

     Prayer, of course, can occur in any setting at any time.  But as we journey through Lent we’re invited to reflect on the value of intentional prayer.  The Season of Lent invites us to deeper communion with God, encouraging us to engage in those spiritual practices that can shape our hearts and bend our lives toward Christlikeness.  The gospels bear witness that Jesus frequently went off by himself to pray. 

      If you do not currently have a space set aside for quiet, hidden and intimate prayer with God, the Season of Lent is a good time to imagine and envision the value of such a sacred space in your life.  I have found that lighting a candle during my set apart times of prayer can help to center my thoughts, serving as a reminder of Christ's presence with me.  

      Lent provides a good time to ponder an important question:  Am I spending enough quality time alone with God?

      

      

 Prayer     

     Lord Jesus, you modeled for us a vital rhythm of prayerful solitude and active community, a 

     rhythm of restorative rest and fruitful work that enabled you to be healthy in body, mind and 

     spirit, as you cultivated deep communion with God through prayer.   We confess that our 

     prayer lives are often not what they could be, not what we wish they would be, not what you 

     desire for us.  In these days of Lent, call us to prayer.   Give us a hunger for deeper 

     communion with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Help us to observe a holy Lent, bathed in 

     prayer.  In your holy name we pray.  Amen.