Lent 4C

Lucas 15:1-3, 11b-32

I first preached this sermon in Spanish; the English translation is below.

Oremos… Que las palabras de mi boca y las meditaciones de nuestros corazones sean gratas a tu vista, Señor, fortaleza y redentor nuestro. Amén. 

Hace unos años, un amigo le presentó a su hija menor la película de 1987 “La princesa prometida”. No recuerdo cuándo vi la película por primera vez, pero una de las frases memorables la dice el personaje de Inigo Montoya después de que Vizzini exclamó “¡Inconcebible!” demasiadas veces. Montoya le dice al otro hombre: “Sigues diciendo esa palabra. Creo que no significa lo que tu piensas que significa”.

Siempre recuerdo esa cita cuando leo el Evangelio de hoy, porque muchas traducciones de la Biblia llaman a este pasaje “El hijo pródigo”. Pero confieso que “pródigo” no significa lo que yo creía. No recuerdo la primera vez que escuché esta historia, pero sé que siempre escuché el énfasis puesto en el regreso del hijo descarriado y la forma en que el “regresa a si mismo.”.

o recupera la cordura y luego practica su disculpa mientras regresa a la casa de su padre. El problema cuando leemos esta historia de esa manera, como escribió Tom Long, profesor de la Escuela de Teología Candler: «El hijo pródigo se convierte en el "jugador de regreso del año". ⁱ

Pero no se le llama hijo pródigo porque regresa.

“Pródigo” significa “desperdiciador, extravagante, imprudente o excesivo”. Los editores que decidieron el título de las diferentes historias bíblicas lo llaman hijo pródigo porque desperdicia su herencia.

Creo que el verdadero pródigo en esta historia es el padre. Después de todo, él es quien, desafiando todas las normas culturales, le da al hijo menor su parte de la herencia cuando este se la pide. Él es quien no duda en darle la bienvenida a su hijo cuando regresa.

De hecho, el padre no solo se reconcilia con él, sino que es él quien les dice a los sirvientes que maten al becerro gordo, animando a toda la casa a celebrar su regreso. Amade manera excesiva. El padre otorga la misma gracia que recibimos de Dios, totalmente inmerecida o no ganada, dada con alegría y sin reservas.

Y no solo al hijo menor. Cuando el hermano mayor confronta a su padre, este le dice: “Hijo, siempre estás conmigo, y todo lo mío es tuyo” (v. 31). Siendo un seguidor de las reglas que demostró lealtad y responsabilidad, el hijo mayor no ha experimentado ninguna alegría al mantener una relación con su padre. Solo ha acumulado resentimiento que estalla al presenciar el amor del padre por el hijo menor. Escuchamos cómo su resentimiento ha distorsionado su visión del mundo cuando se queja con el padre de “este hijo tuyo”. Aunque ambos son hermanos, el resentimiento ha erosionado su vínculo común.

El maestro franciscano Padre Richard Rohr escribe en Respirando Bajo el Agua:

“La muerte de cualquier relación con alguien es tener un sentido de derecho. Cualquier ideade “me lo merezco”, “me lo deben”, “tengo derecho a” o “soy superior a ti” minimiza por completo cualquier noción de fe, esperanza o amor…”.

Es lo que Rohr llama una actitud “destructiva del alma”.ⁱⁱ

El padre le ruega a su hijo mayor que se una a la fiesta que se está celebrando para “este hermano tuyo”, pero Lucas nunca nos dice cómo termina la historia. ¿Se restablece la familia? ¿O continúa el hijo mayor con un comportamiento destructor del alma? ¿Y cómo responde el hijo menor a la gracia que ha recibido?

Esas preguntas quedan a la sagrada imaginación. 

Nuestra manera de escuchar  la historia bíblica siempre se ve afectada por nuestras propias experiencias de vida, por lo que el final que imaginamos  podría estar influenciado por si éramos hermanos menores o mayores, nuestras relaciones con padres y figuras paternas, y nuestras propias experiencias de perdón. 

La buena noticia de este evangelio es que, in importar de dónde nos ubiquemos en la historia, cada uno de nosotros es amado de forma extravagante sin condición por Dios, incluso cuando sentimos que tenemos derecho a nuestro lugar en la familia de Dios; incluso cuando desperdiciamos la generosidad de Dios; incluso cuando abandonamos a Dios en los buenos momentos, solo para regresar cuando estamos desesperados y necesitamos ayuda.

Cada uno de nosotros es amado de forma extravagante y sin condición por Dios, incluso cuando hacemos y decimos todo lo correcto, pero mantenemos nuestros corazones cerrados a la alegría y a los demás frutos del Espíritu de Dios en nuestras vidas; incluso cuando permitimos que el resentimiento y el mal endurezcan nuestros corazones hacia nuestros hermanos y hermanas en Cristo; incluso cuando nos frustramos o nos sentimos insultados por la insensatez de la gracia prodiga de Dios.

Todos somos amados, y Dios esta esperando para darnos la bienvenida en casa como hijos de Dios. En unos minutos com-partiremos la paz de Cristo donde, como el padre abrazando a su hijo, nos reconciliamos con Dios y entre nosotros, y luego, en esta Mesa, en la Santa Comunión, celebraremos un anticipo de la fiesta venidera, disfrutando de la promesa del perdón de Dios por nuestros pecados y de las maneras en que su misericordia se renueva cada día.

Oremos… Dios misericordioso, te damos gracias por el amor redentor que nos das a través de tu hijo Jesús; perdonados y alimentados, envíanos al mundo a compartir tu gracia reconciliadora, para que todos conozcan tu amor. Amén.

[1] Tom Long. “Surprise Party” in Living by the Word, The Christian Century, 2001.

[1] Richard Rohr. Breathing Under Water. 61-62.

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

A few years ago, a friend introduced his youngest daughter to the 1987 movie “The Princess Bride.” I don’t remember when I first saw the film, but one of the memorable lines is delivered by the character Inigo Montoya after Vizzini exclaims, “Inconceivable” one too many times. Montoya tells the other man, “You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

I always remember that quote when I read today’s gospel, because many Bible translations name this passage “The Prodigal Son.” But I confess, “prodigal” doesn’t mean what I thought it meant. I don’t remember the first time I heard this story, but I know I always heard the emphasis placed on the return of the wayward son and the way that he “comes to himself” or returns to his senses and then practices his apology as he makes his way back to his father’s house. The problem when we read this story that way, as Candler Divinity School professor Tom Long wrote, “The prodigal son becomes the “comeback player of the year.”[i]

But he isn’t called the prodigal son because he comes back.

“Prodigal” means “wasteful, extravagant, reckless, or excessive.” The editors who decided what to title the different bible stories call him the prodigal son because he wastes his inheritance.

I believe the true prodigal in this story is the father. After all he is the one who, in defiance of all cultural norms, gives the younger son his share of the inheritance when he asks for it. He is the one who doesn’t hesitate to welcome the son back when he returns. In fact, not only does the father reconcile with him but he is the one who tells the servants to kill the fatted calf, encouraging the whole household to celebrate his return. He loves excessively. The father delivers the same grace we receive from God, wholly unmerited or unearned, given joyfully and without reservation.

And not only to the younger son. When the older brother confronts his father, the father says, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” (v. 31) A rule follower who demonstrated loyalty and responsibility, the older son hasn’t experienced any joy from remaining in a relationship with his father. He has accumulated only resentment that boils over when he witnesses the father’s love for the younger son. We hear how his resentment has warped his view of the world when he complains to the father about “this son of yours.” Although the two are brothers their common bond has been eaten away by resentment.

Franciscan teacher Father Richard Rohr writes in Breathing Under Water,

“The death of any relationship with anyone is to have a sense of entitlement. Any notion that “I deserve,” “I am owed,” “I have a right to,” or “I am higher than you” absolutely undermines any notion of faith, hope or love…”

It is what Rohr calls a “soul-destructive” attitude.[ii]

The father pleads with the older son to join the party being thrown for “this brother of yours” but Luke never tells us how the story ends. Is the family restored? Or does the older son continue to engage in soul-destructive behavior? And how does the younger son respond to the grace he has received?

Those questions are left to holy imagination. Our hearing of the biblical story always is affected by our own life experiences, so the ending we might picture could be influenced by whether we were younger siblings or older, our relationships with fathers and father-figures, and our own experiences of forgiveness.

The good news of this gospel is that, regardless of where we locate ourselves in the story,

each one of us is loved extravagantly and recklessly by God —

even when we feel entitled to our place in God’s family;

even when we squander God’s generosity;

even when we abandon God in good times, only to return when we are desperate and need help.

Each one of us is loved extravagantly and recklessly by God — even when we do and say all the right things but keep our hearts closed to joy and the other fruits of God’s Spirit in our lives;

even when we let resentment and evil harden our hearts to our brothers and sisters in Christ;

even when we get frustrated or insulted at the foolishness of our prodigal God’s grace.

We are all loved, and God is waiting to welcome us home as God’s children. In a few minutes we’ll share the peace of Christ where, like the father embracing his son, we are reconciled to God and with one another, and then, at this Table, in Holy Communion, we will celebrate a foretaste of the feast to come, enjoying the promise of God’s forgiveness for our sin and the ways God’s mercy is new every day.

Let us pray…

Merciful God,

We give you thanks for the redemptive love that you give us through your son Jesus;

Forgiven and fed send us out in the world to share your reconciling grace, that everyone would know your love.

Amen.

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[i] Tom Long. “Surprise Party” in Living by the Word, The Christian Century, 2001.

[ii] Richard Rohr. Breathing Under Water. 61-62.

Lent 3C

Isaías 55:1-13  Lucas 13:1-9

I first preached this sermon in Spanish; the English translation is below.

Oremos… Que las palabras de mi boca y las meditaciónes de nuestros corazones sean gratas a tu vista, Señor, fortaleza y redentor nuestro. Amén.

Hace apenas tres semanas, comenzamos la Cuaresma con una cruz de cenizas en la frente y las palabras: “Polvo eres y al polvo regresaras”. Enfrentar nuestra mortalidad puede ser desconcertante al recordar a los santos que nos precedieron o al presenciar a un niño pequeño recibir la cruz de cenizas. Pero las cenizas no solo representan la muerte. En Cuaresma, «lo que parece un final es en realidad una invitación a hacer de cada día un nuevo comienzo, en el que somos lavadosen la misericordia y el perdón de Dios.” ⁱ

Cuando el Monte Santa Elena entró en erupción en mayo de 1980, la ceniza se desplazó hacia el este y, en muchos lugares, causó un desastre terrible. Pero, para sorpresa de los agricultores, los cultivos del granero del noroeste prosperaron. Resultó que cuando la ceniza caía sobre los campos de trigo, sellaba la humedad de la tierra para las jóvenes plantas sedientas.

There was more happening there than they could see.

Allí sucedía algo más de lo que podían ver.

Esta mañana, en Isaías y de nuevo en el Evangelio, escuchamos ecos del llamado del Miércoles de Ceniza del profeta Joel para que el pueblo de Dios se vuelva a Dios con todo su corazón. Primero, el Señor habla a través del profeta Isaías a los exiliados en el cautiverio babilónico, diciéndoles: “6 Busquen al Señor mientras puede ser hallado, invóquenlo mientras está cercano; 7 que el impio dejesu camino, y el inicuo sus pensamientos; vuélvanse al Señor, para que él tenga misericordia de ellos, y a nuestro Dios, el cual será amplio en perdonar."

Luego, hablando a los galileos, Jesús dice: “Si no se arrepienten, todos perecerán…”.

Al igual que la muerte, el arrepentimiento es una de esas palabras que nos incomoda; después de todo, ¿quién quiere admitir que hemos fallado, que hemos sido injustos o malvados, y que necesitamos cambiar de rumbo?

Las Buenas Nuevas de hoy es que incluso cuando confesamos nuestro pecado —lo que hemos hecho y lo que hemos dejado de hacer, o las formas en que nos hemos encerrado en nosotros mismos - y nos arrepentimos – dándonos la vuelta y cambiando de rumbo - hay más sucediendo allí de lo que podemos ver.

Creo que por eso Jesús les dice a los Parábola que sigue.

Recuerden, las parábolas son las historias que Jesús cuenta y que usan aspectos familiares de la vida de su audiencia para enseñarles sobre Dios. Quizás sea parte de la naturaleza humana, pero cuando escuchamos parábolas, a menudo nos identificamos con uno de los personajes y asignamos un personaje a Dios.

Así, cuando se narra esta parábola sobre la higuera estéril, se describe al dueño de la viña como Dios.

Pero esa interpretación hace que Dios se impaciente, incluso enojado y distante.

También hace que Aquel que en Génesis llamó a todas las cosas creadas "muy buenas" se pregunte: "¿Por qué [este árbol estéril] estaría desperdiciando la tierra?".

Eso no suena como el Dios misericordioso que conocemos por su actividad en el mundo ni como el Dios firme cuyas promesas nos sirven de esperanza en lugares desolados.

Entonces, ¿qué cambia si, en cambio, identificamos al hombre con el mundo en el que vivimos? ¿No es más propio del mundo ser el impaciente, el que espera mayor productividad y resultados más rápidos? ¿Quién llama a algo o a alguien un desperdicio de espacio o tiempo y amenaza con cortarlo o destruirlo?

La higuera en sí misma representa el Reino de Dios, la manera en que vivimos la plenitud de quienes Dios nos creó para ser como pueblo suyo y proclamamos su abundante misericordia y perdón a todos. Sabemos que seguir a Jesús requiere tiempo y paciencia, y a veces parece que no sucede gran cosa.

Entendiendo la parábola de esta manera, creo que el jardinero cuidadoso que ha nutrido y cuidado la higuera, observando sus señales de vida y crecimiento, representa mejor al Dios que conocemos en las Escrituras, Aquel que comprende que allí suceden más cosas de las que el mundo puede ver.

Respondiendo al llamado de Jesús a volver a Dios —al arrepentimiento—, la parábola nos anima a renovar nuestra confianza en las promesas de Dios, creyendo que Dios es fiel y hará lo que hace: traer vida de la esterilidad y restaurar la esperanza.

No nos corresponde a nosotros saber cómo. Como continúa el Señor en la lectura de Isaías:

⁸Porque mis pensamientos no son vuestros pensamientos, ni vuestros caminos mis caminos, dice el Señor. ⁹Porque como son más altos los cielos que la tierra, así son mis caminos más altos que vuestros caminos, y mis pensamientos más que vuestros pensamientos.

Lo que sí sabemos es que en las aguas del bautismo la misericordia de Dios se renueva cada día, y en la Mesa somos nutridos para el camino del discipulado, mientras nos esforzamos por vivir nuestras promesas bautismales: “Vivir entre el pueblo fiel de Dios, acercarnos a la palabra de Dios y a la santa cena, nutrirnos en la fe y la oración, aprender a confiar en Dios, proclamar a Cristo con palabras y obras, cuidar de los demás y del mundo que Dios creó, y trabajar por la justicia y la paz entre todas las personas”. ⁱⁱ

Nuestra confianza en las promesas restauradoras y vivificantes de Dios nos distingue de un mundo donde la división deteriora las relaciones y corroe las comunidades, y nos llama a responder a nuestro prójimo con la misma ternura y misericordia que Dios nos da primero, confiados en que allí está sucediendo más de lo que podemos ver.

Oremos…

Dios santo y sustentador,

Gracias por tu tierno cuidado y por el gozo de la salvación que tenemos en la fe.

Nos llamas al arrepentimiento y al retorno a ti; por tu Espíritu Santo, haznos obedientes.

Enséñanos humildad y paciencia para que, como discípulos tuyos, llevemos tu misericordia y amor al mundo.

Oramos en el nombre de tu Hijo Jesús.

Amén.

[i] “Introduction, Ash Wednesday,” Sundays and Seasons.

[ii] “Affirmation of Baptism,” ELW.

Lent 2C

Luke 13:31-35; Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Our gospel takes place after Jesus set out for Jerusalem (9:51),

but before the final week that will lead to his arrest and crucifixion. His enemies have already made themselves known, criticizing him and his teaching (5:30, 5:33, 6:2, 15:2), grumbling about his healing on the Sabbath (6:7, 13:14, 14:1-3) and questioning his authority (7:49).

It isn’t clear whether the Pharisees, who were the religious experts, were genuine in their concern for Jesus, warning him that Herod Antipas wanted to kill him, or whether they were scheming to manipulate Jesus.

But Jesus responds with the same steely resolve he adopted when he turned toward Jerusalem. He is going to continue to do his Kingdom work – “casting out demons and performing cures” (13:32) – and he will complete his journey to Jerusalem on his own time.

But even as he dismisses his enemies,

and fully knowing what awaits him in Jerusalem,

Jesus offers a lament for the city and its people. He cries out for God’s beloved because he knows they have turned away from God and God’s “unwavering love for [them.]”[i]

This is the choice God’s people make over and over again.

Returning to our first reading in Genesis, we hear Abram in conversation with God. It’s not the first encounter Abram has had with God. It was in Genesis 12 in the land of Ur that the Lord first promised Abram,

² I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Since then, Abram and Sarai have journeyed faithfully, trusting God’s promises, but they remain childless and dispossessed of any land of their own.  

But now the Lord comes to Abram and says, “Do not be afraid.”

For the ancient Israelites hearing this story, and for us today, those words carry a promise. Those words mean good things are coming.

Just in Genesis, we hear them when Hagar thinks Ishmael will die in the desert (21:17); when Isaac and Rebekah are in Beersheba (26:24); and when Israel, who is renamed Jacob, is traveling with his sons and their children and wives to Egypt to escape the famine in Canaan. (46:3)

But this time Abram doesn’t take God’s Word at face value.

This time, he has questions.

He is skeptical, asking, “What will you give me?” (15:2) and “How am I to know?” (15:8) because the promises God gave him in Ur haven’t been realized yet.

Abram isn’t simply impatient or fickle. He has been faithful, but he was 75 when the promises were made and with each passing year, they are harder to believe.

“Amazingly, God continues to be patient with him.”[ii] God continues to be steadfast and present, ready to bless Abram, despite his doubt and uncertainty.

God repeats God’s promise to Abram, saying, “Look toward the heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them...So shall your descendants be.” (15:5) and then he tells Abram “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.” (15”18)

And just as God gave Noah a sign of the covenant by placing a bow in the sky (9:17), God makes a covenant with Abram. God’s presence with the Israelites on that day appeared as a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, and represented by those objects, God passed between the cleaved livestock as a sign of God’s commitment to fulfill the promises God has made to Abram.

The Genesis text tells us that even as God was repeating God’s promises and even as Abram was questioning God and asking for signs of God’s faithfulness, Abram believed what God was saying. (15:6)

Faith does not mean relinquishing questions and doubts.

But just as God demonstrates God’s patience for Abram, God patiently waits on us, hoping for our trust.

Importantly, our response does not change God’s faithfulness.

God continues to be the God of promise known to our ancestors in faith, and God continues to be the God of grace and mercy whom we know in the person of Jesus Christ - the same Christ who laments when God’s people turn away from God, when we forget that we are connected to one another as God’s children and when we are unwilling to love another without exception.

We are invited to wrestle with the uncertainty and challenges we face in life and to have hard conversations with confidence that God’s love is unchanging.

Let us pray…[iii]

Holy God,

Thank you for promising us that we have nothing to fear.

You made a lasting covenant with Abraham and with all Your children;

help us trust in your steadfast presence as we wait on You,

confident that nothing separates us from your unwavering love.

We pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

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[i] Bartlett, David L.; Barbara Brown Bartlett. Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 2: Lent through Eastertide . Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.

[ii] Bartlett, David L.; Barbara Brown Bartlett. Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 2: Lent through Eastertide . Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.

[iii] Laughing Bird Liturgical Resources.

Lent 1C

Lucas 4:1-13

I first preached this sermon in Spanish; the English translation is below.

Oremos…Que las palabras de mi boca y las meditaciones de nuestro corazón sean aceptables delante de ti, Señor, fortaleza nuestra y redentor nuestro. Amén.

Mi difunto padre era un admirador del teólogo británico C.S. Lewis. Lewis, conocido popularmente por los libros de Narnia, entre los que se incluyen “El león, la bruja y el armario”, también escribió un libro llamado “Cartas de Screwtape”. “Screwtape” es un personaje que Lewis presenta como un asistente de alto rango de Satanás, y el libro está compuesto por sus cartas a su sobrino “Wormwood” en las que guía al joven demonio e inexperto para que corrompa a un joven que conoce. Es un relato ficticio que muestra cómo Satanás, el adversario de Dios, intenta corromper a los humanos en cada oportunidad posible.

En nuestro evangelio, Lucas dice que durante sus cuarenta días y noches en el desierto, Jesús fue tentado o puesto a prueba por diabolos o “el diablo”. El diablo es un calumniador, un engañador y un mentiroso malicioso.

Ya sea Satanás o uno de sus sirvientes, este personaje emplea un arsenal de trucos para sembrar dudas, incertidumbre, miedo y desconfianza en cada oportunidad disponible.

Los Evangelios nos dicen que la prueba de Jesús tuvieron lugardurante cuarenta días, una descripción que se utiliza en las Escrituras para decirnos que estos eventos sucedieron durante un largo período de tiempo y una señal que nos ayuda a conectar la historia de Jesús en el desierto con la de los peregrinajes de los israelitas en el desierto durante el éxodo, y también con el viaje solitario de Moisés en el desierto del Sinaí antes de recibir los Mandamientos de Dios.

Seguir el llamado de Dios significa soportar tiempos de aislamiento, pruebas y dificultades. Es importante destacar que el Espíritu Santo está guiando y acompañando a Jesús durante todo este tiempo y, como él, no estamos solos para enfrentar pruebas y desafíos.

Si bien las pruebas y tentaciones de Jesús ocurren a lo largo de cuarenta días, Lucas nos habla de las tres pruebas finales que enfrenta y cómo responde a ellas. En cada ocasión, Jesús, un judío practicante y observante delTorá, recurre a su conocimiento de la Biblia hebrea, y en particular del Deuteronomio, y utiliza las Escrituras para rechazar las burlas del diablo, encontrando las palabras para expresar su confianza en Dios y su dependencia de Él para su identidad y su futuro.ⁱ

Si me detuviera allí, todo lo que podríamos escuchar es que necesitamos confiar más, o al menos memorizar más versículos bíblicos, para poder responder con la misma facilidad con la que lo hizo Jesús.

Pero yo no creo que eso sea todo lo que hay que escuchar.

Al final del pasaje, Lucas escribe que el diablo “se alejó de [Jesús] hasta un momento oportuno” (v. 13).

Al igual que los tiempos de aislamiento, pruebas y dificultades, la tentación es parte de nuestra vida como cristianos. En nuestro bautismo, prometemos renunciar al mal, al diablo y a los poderes de este mundo que desafían a Dios, se rebelan contra Él y nos alejan de Él.

Con estas palabras, reconocemos que hay fuerzas que trabajan activamente contra Dios, y que vivir como pueblo de Dios significará vivir en oposición a esos adversarios.

Una de las armas de nuestro arsenal es nuestra confianza en Dios. “La confianza está en el corazón de nuestra relación con Dios... [Pero] la confianza, como cualquier otra cosa, se fortalece con la práctica”ⁱⁱ

Ayer, me presentaron un himno que no conocía. Eso noes una sorpresa, pero me sorprendió saber que su autor enseña en el colegio de Brevard. En el himno “Dios está llamando a través del susurro”, cada verso pregunta si podemos escuchar la voz de Dios en lo que presenciamos a nuestro alrededor.ⁱⁱⁱ Y ayer, mientras leíamos el texto y cantábamos los versos, hablamos sobre las formas en que somos tentados, opuestos a prueba, a alejarnos de Dios.

Por eso, hoy, quiero compartir las palabras con todos ustedes. Mientras leen estas palabras, los invito a reflexionar sobre las formas en que somos tentados a alejarnos de Dios y cómo podemos resistir esas tentaciones.

El primer verso describe los suspiros profundos del Espíritu, la belleza repentina de la tierra y el silencio de la quietud, y me pregunto cómo llenamos nuestro tiempo, espacio y agendas con ruido y actividades apresuradas. ¿Con qué frecuencia me olvido de levantar la vista de lo que demanda mi atención y prestar atención a dónde está Dios obrando? ¿Cuándo he recibido el don de presenciar algo santo y lo he ignorado?

El segundo verso parece más fácil. ¿Acaso no queremos todos responder a los anhelos y oraciones de nuestros prójimos? Pero amar a mi prójimo significa poner el amor en acción. Son los amigos del hombre paralítico quienes cortan un agujero en el techo de la casa para que Jesús pudiera sanarlo (Marcos 2:4) y el buen samaritano quien venda las heridas del hombre herido y paga su alojamiento hasta que se recupere (Lucas 10). No podemos amar a nuestro prójimo desde una distancia “segura”.

Y luego el tercer verso nos invita a encarnar la alegría de la alabanza, a hacer ruido alegre. No es indulgente hacer música, cantar y bailar; las Escrituras están llenas de historias del pueblo de Dios cantando y proclamando con acción de gracias.

Pero en algún momento del camino, la mayoría de nosotros dejamos de hacerlo. Porque alguien dijo que no era bueno ser ruidoso, desordenado o peculiar Y la música, la pintura y el juego no son “productivos”. Pero los cielos pintados con la obra de Dios, las complejidades de nuestros cuerpos humanos y los campos cubiertos de flores silvestres dan testimonio de la obra continua de nuestro Dios creativo.

En cada paso, el diablo puede encontrar una oportunidad para ponernos a prueba, pero nosotros tenemos la oportunidad de notar la presencia de Dios, de habitaren la bondad de Dios, de maravillarnos ante el poder y la majestad de Dios, y de confiar en el amor constante y abundante de Dios por todos nosotros.

No tenemos que tener versículos de memoria o respuestas fáciles cuando somos puestos a prueba, tenemos el amor de Dios, profundamente dentro de nosotros, y el Espíritu de Dios llenándonos.

Así que, en esta Cuaresma, practiquemos juntos y profundicemos nuestra relación con Dios, para que nuestra confianza, que esta en el corazón de esa relación, sea fortalecida.

Amén.

---

[i] David Lose. “Dear Working Preacher.” Luther Seminary. February 10, 2013.

[ii] ibid

[iii] Dr. Mary Louise “Mel” Bringle. “God is Calling Through the Whisper.” GIA Publications, Inc. 2006. https://hymnary.org/text/god_is_calling_through_the_whisper

Luke 4:1-13

My late father was an admirer of the British theologian C.S. Lewis. Lewis who is popularly known for the Narnia books that include “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, also wrote a book called “Screwtape Letters”. “Screwtape” is a character that Lewis portrays as a highly placed assistant to Satan, and the book is composed of his letters to his nephew “Wormwood” as he directs the younger inexperienced demon to corrupt a young man he knows. It’s a fictional account that shows how Satan, an adversary of God, attempts to corrupt humans at every available opportunity.

In our gospel, Luke says that during his forty wilderness days and nights, Jesus was tempted, or tested, by diabolos or “the devil”.  The devil is a slanderer, a deceiver and a malicious liar. Whether Satan or one of Satan’s minions, this character employs an arsenal of tricks to sow doubt, uncertainty, fear and mistrust at every available opportunity.

The Gospels tell us that Jesus’ testing takes place over forty days – a description used in Scripture to tell us these events happened over a long period of time, and a signpost that helps us connect Jesus’ wilderness story with that of the Israelites’ wilderness wanderings during the exodus, and also with Moses’ isolated journey in the Sinai wilderness before he received the Commandments from God.

Following God’s call means enduring times of isolation, testing, and hardship. Importantly, the Holy Spirit is leading and accompanying Jesus throughout this time, and like him, we are not left alone to face trials and challenges.

While Jesus’ testing and temptations happen throughout the forty days, Luke tells us about the final three tests that he faces and how he responds to them. Each time, Jesus, a practicing and Torah-observant Jew, draws on his knowledge of the Hebrew Bible, and particularly of Deuteronomy, and he uses Scripture to rebuff the devil’s taunts, finding the words to give voice to his trust in – and dependence on - God for his identity and his future.[i]

If I stopped there, all we might hear is how we need to trust more, or at least have more Bible verses memorized, so we could answer as glibly as Jesus did.

But I don’t think that’s all there is to hear.

At the end of the passage, Luke writes that the devil “departed from [Jesus] until an opportune time.” (v. 13)

Like times of isolation, testing and hardship, temptation is part of our lives as Christians. At our baptism, we promise to renounce evil, the devil, and the powers of this world that defy God, rebel against God and draw us away from God.

With these words, we acknowledge that there are forces actively working against God, and that living as God’s people will mean living in opposition to those adversaries.

One of the weapons in our arsenal is our trust in God. “Trust is at the heart of our relationship with God... [But] trust, like anything else, is strengthened through practice.” [ii]

Yesterday, I was introduced to a hymn I didn’t know. That’s not a surprise, but I was surprised to learn that its author teaches at Brevard College. In the hymn “God is Calling Through the Whisper” each verse asks if we can hear God’s voice in what we witness around us.[iii] And yesterday, as we read the text and sang the verses, we talked about the ways that we are tempted, or tested, to turn away from God.

So today, I want to share the words with all of you. As you read the words, I invite you to reflect on the ways in which we are tempted to turn away from God, and how we might resist those temptations.

The first verse describes the Spirit’s deep sighs, the earth’s sudden beauty and the hush of stillness, and I wonder how we fill up our time, space and schedules with noise and busy-ness. How often do I forget to look up from whatever is demanding my attention, and pay attention to where God is at work? When have I been given the gift of witnessing something holy and ignored it?

The second verse seems easier. Don’t we all want to respond to the longings and prayers of our neighbors? But loving my neighbor means putting love into action. It is the friends of the paralyzed man cutting a hole in the roof of the house so Jesus could heal him (Mark 2:4) and the good Samaritan bandaging the wounds of the injured man and paying for his lodging until he was well. (Luke 10) We cannot love our neighbors from a “safe” distance.

And then the third verse invites us to embody the joy of praise, to make a joyful noise. It is not indulgent to make music, to sing and to dance; Scripture is full of stories of God’s people singing and shouting with thanksgiving. But somewhere along the way, we mostly stopped. Because someone said it wasn’t good to be noisy or messy or whimsical. And music and painting and play aren’t “productive”. But skies painted with God’s handiwork, the intricacies of our human bodies, and fields that are blankets of wildflowers all testify to the ongoing work of our creative God.

At each turn, the devil may find an opportunity to test us, but we have an opportunity to notice God’s presence, to dwell in God’s goodness, to wonder at God’s power and majesty, and to trust in God’s steadfast and abundant love for us all.

We don’t have to have memory verses or glib answers when we are tested, we have God’s love, deep within us, and God’s Spirit filling us.

So this Lent, let’s practice together and deepen our relationship with God, that our trust, at the heart of that relationship will be strengthened.

Amen.

---

[i] David Lose. “Dear Working Preacher.” Luther Seminary. February 10, 2013.

[ii] ibid

[iii] Dr. Mary Louise “Mel” Bringle. “God is Calling Through the Whisper.” GIA Publications, Inc. 2006. https://hymnary.org/text/god_is_calling_through_the_whisper

Palm Sunday

Mark 11:1-11

Whenever we have a familiar story from the Bible, it’s a challenge to hear it anew. Today is one of those times; we hear some version of this story every year on Palm Sunday. Earlier we participated in what’s known as the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where people laid down their leafy branches ahead of Jesus’ arrival, and we think we know what’s coming next. But often, as with the Christmas story, we often conflate or combine elements of the different stories into one.

In Matthew and Luke’s gospel, the entry is even more grand and when Jesus goes to the temple, he immediately he confronts the moneychangers and drives them out. But that isn’t what happens in Mark’s gospel, and that difference makes me curious.

In his gospel, Mark says, “Then [Jesus] entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.” (Mark 11:11)

According to Mark, he does return to the temple the next day, but right now, in this moment, Jesus stops and looks around at everything.

Often, I think we hear “Temple” and think “church”, and we imagine Jesus entering a darkened, peaceful sanctuary, but the Temple grounds were massive, covering acres of land. The Temple was divided into courts, and there were guards. Even if the people who were there to sell animals for sacrifice and change money were gone because of the late hour, there would have been litter or debris from the crowds who had been there earlier in the day and the lingering smell of throngs of people, burnt offerings and animal dung.

It was not a quiet, meditative place.

But Jesus had been there before, as it was Jewish custom to travel to Jerusalem for the Passover. Surely, he would have known what to expect. And yet, this time was different.

And, he stopped and looked around at everything.

Maybe, he was reflecting on the Passover visit to the Temple when he was a boy, when his parents found him, “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” (Luke 2:46) Maybe, like any of us who have gone back to a place we knew in childhood, he wondered at how different it was from his memories.

Maybe, he was reflecting on his years of ministry in Galilee, teaching and healing and upending people’s expectations of what, or who, a Messiah is. Jesus must have known that this time, his arrival in the city would provoke its leaders and that as he continued to invite people to be transformed, he would make a lot of people angry.

As one preacher said, Jesus wasn’t crucified because he told people to love one other.

He embodied the unbounded love of God and welcomed all, but he didn’t stop there. He challenged their understanding of authority and salvation, wrenching it from the hands of the emperor and returning it to its rightful place with God. He challenged their institutions and norms, where they found their security and control, and pointed them away from manmade things to God.

Today, as we enter Holy Week, we accompany Jesus first in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and now to the temple. When we stop and look around at everything, what do we see?

Surely, we see that our congregations look different from the past. While some of that is sentimental longing, some of it is concrete and measurable. Decades ago, in many communities, certainly here in the South, the church was at the center of life, and traditions and friendships and activities were all built around it. There are a lot of reasons that’s no longer true and many are positive, despite the changes they’ve brought, but it is different now.

Surely, we see the divisiveness that seems to run like an electric current through conversations locally, nationally and in the world. Divisions have always been there, but they feel more intractable, and the chasms seem wider, especially in a year with a presidential election, and especially in times when there is war in Ukraine and the Holy Land.

 I hope that when we stop and look around at everything,

we do not cling to what was, or despair at the challenges that are part of our lives,

but we see each other as God’s beloved;

we see the strengths of this community of Jesus-followers; and,

we see the hope that the Gospel brings,

to anyone who has been pushed aside or been afraid,

to anyone who has been spinning because of the pace of change around them, or

to anyone who has felt the weight of the world on their shoulders and thought they would falter.

I hope when we stop and look around at everything, we can take a deep breath, breathing in God’s peace and the assurance of God’s presence in all that is to come. I wonder if that is what Jesus did, too.

Throughout this week, we will walk beside Jesus, as the crowds grow smaller and smaller, and the rest of his disciples choose whether to stay or to leave.

This week, and always,

I pray that we will not balk

at the invitation to be transformed by God’s love,

even when it means challenging our expectations,

or changing our understanding of what it means to be faithful.

I pray we will keep our eyes on God, and not the world, and follow.

Amen.

Fifth Sunday in Lent

 John12:20-33

Throughout Lent, we have been listening to God to learn how we might practice forgiveness with all our heart, soul, and mind. Forgiveness is rooted in relationship: recognizing that God’s abundant forgiveness is ours because of the relationship we have with God because we are God’s children; and being empowered through God’s grace for us, to forgive ourselves and others with whom we are in relationship.

Practicing forgiveness also helps us remember that faith is never an individual or solo endeavor. It is inherently communal, and while it is personal, it is not private. We are in relationship with God, with each other and with our neighbors beyond our doors. And the fullness of our faith is diminished when our relationships are broken.

But, forgiveness is not a new idea.

 The prophet Jeremiah reminds us that God formed covenants - or relationships - with our ancestors in faith. There was the covenant with Noah, and then with Abram, and then with Moses and the whole people of Israel. But when the Law was given in stone, the tablets were later broken, and when forgiveness was given, it was later rejected.

But Jeremiah says this time will be different.

This time there will be a new covenant.

The covenant is still grounded in forgiveness but, this time, the prophet declares, it will be written on our hearts.

By grace, God writes over whatever pain or wounds we have suffered (even the ones that are self-inflicted), cleanses our sin-scarred hearts, and makes us new and whole.

For us as Christians, we see this new covenant manifest in the person of Jesus Christ. It is in Jesus that we see God make people whole, restore their relationships and return them to their families and communities. It is in Jesus that we see justice – the addressing of wrong actions – enacted, and we see man-made or contrived boundaries, barriers and categories broken down.

And that is why, as we approach Palm Sunday and Holy Week, the religious authorities were plotting to kill Jesus.

But in the gospel text, it is also why Greeks were coming to the disciples, and saying, “We wish to see Jesus.”

It’s most likely that these Greeks were Gentiles, outsiders to the old covenant, and yet, here they were coming to see the Messiah, the Son of God who had come into the world.

Once upon a time, the words “We wish to see Jesus” were carved into pulpits, that we preachers would remember our task. But I think I’d like to see those words carved into the lintel and doorposts at the entrance to every sanctuary, so that all of us, as we leave after worship, might remember that, for some, we are the only Jesus a person may meet.

The Evangelist tells us that Philip went to Andrew and then, together, they went to tell Jesus about the Greeks who had come, but after that, the gospel account takes a turn, and we never even learn whether they got to see Jesus.

Maybe they only got to meet the disciples and see Jesus by hearing their stories of why they followed Jesus and watching what their journey looked like.

A few years ago, at a gathering of chaplains at Hood Seminary, I listened as the brigadier general who was, at that time, leading the Army and Air National Guard Chaplain Corps spoke.

Chaplain Chisolm told his story of growing up in Mississippi in a town where his daddy was the school superintendent, and, as he told his story, he told us about the man he called Brother Wallace, who lived next door to the church where he grew up, which was just across the street from his own house.

 

That meant Brother Wallace was a witness to all the mischief he and his brothers and sisters got into, but Chaplain Chisolm said that, even in those years when as a teenager he didn’t think much about God or faith, Brother Wallace remained a constant presence in his life. Not cajoling or coercing or chastising him but just staying connected and interested.

 

At 18 Chisolm enlisted in the Air National Guard and, a few weeks after he graduated from high school, he moved farther away from home, and from his parents, than he had ever gone before - to Texas for basic training. The chaplain told the story of how there, in the old World War 2 barracks at Lackland Air Force Base, he heard God speak to him and as he wrestled with what that meant, he wrote a letter to Brother Wallace. He didn’t know what to do next, but he knew Brother Wallace was someone he could trust with his questions, and who could help him see God more clearly.

 

More than thirty years later, when Chisolm returned home for his father’s funeral, he was speaking again with Brother Wallace, and the older gentleman reached into his coat pocket and pulled out that letter written by the young recruit in a complex time of uncertainty.

“We wish to see Jesus. 

It is a plea that each one of us has probably made in our lifetimes, and that our neighbors, young and old, may only have answered in our openness to accompany them and listen to their stories;

in our “healing actions or attitudes that [affirm] that all people are created in the image of a loving God and, therefore, need and merit, respect and dignity;”[i] 

or in our willingness to show up and be “a visible sign of the Holy” in a volatile and unpredictable world. [ii]

As we near the end of this Lenten season, I wonder how we can help the people around us see Jesus reflected in our words and actions.

Let us pray.

Covenant God,

You see us for what we are, but in mercy You do not cast us aside. In your steadfast love you forgive us our sin.

May we bear your love and mercy into a hurting world in such a way that they will see You in our words and actions.

We pray in the name of Your Son Jesus,

Amen.

---

[i] Dr. Vergel Lattimore, Hood Theological Seminary, Salisbury, NC. 2018.

[ii] Chaplain Brig. Gen. J. Steven Chisolm speaking at Hood Theological Seminary, Salisbury, NC. 2018.  

Fourth Sunday in Lent (El cuarto domingo de Cuaresma)

Efesios 2:1-10

I preached this sermon in the Spanish service; the English translation is below. 

Oremos…

Que las palabras de mi boca y las meditaciones de nuestros corazones sean aceptables a tu vista, oh Señor nuestra fuerza y nuestro redentor. Amén.

Una de mis frases favoritas en las Escrituras aparece en la Epístola, o Carta de hoy a la Iglesia en Éfeso. La frase en inglés es “But God”. En español, la frase cambia, pero el significado es la mismo. "pero Dios".

¿Recuerdas cuando Jose confronta a sus hermanos cuando la hambruna golpea a Israel y vienen a Egipto en busca de ayuda? Él les dice, ⁸ pues, no me enviaron ustedes acá , sino Dios, que me ha puesto por padre de Faraón, y por señor de toda su casa y gobernador en toda la tierra de Egipto. (Gen. 45: 8 RVR1960) y, más tarde les dice,

²⁰ Vosotros pensasteis mal contra mí, mas Dios lo encaminó a bien, para hacer lo que vemos hoy, para mantener en vida a a mucho pueblo. (Génesis 50:20 RVR1960)

Cuando el escritor de los Hechos habla a los israelitas sobre Jesús, recordándoles que lo habían matado, dice,

²⁴ al cual Dios levantó, sueltos los dolores de la muerte, por cuanto era imposible que fuese retenido por ella. (Hechos 2:24 RVR1960)

Y en la carta de Pablo a los romanos, escribe,

⁷ ... Ciertamente, apenas morirá alguno por un justo... ⁸ Mas Dios muestra su amor para con nosotros, en que, siendo aún pecadores, Cristo murió por nosotros. (Rom. 5: 7-8 RVR1960)

Una y otra vez, estamos viendo cómo se desarrolla la historia y creemos que sabemos lo que sucederá después, "pero Dios" actúa y la historia cambia.

Entonces, quiero que veamos lo que sucede cuando escuchamos estas palabras en efesios.

Cuando leemos las epístolas, y particularmente los efesios, es útil recordar tres cosas.

Primero, estamos escuchando la conversación de otras persona.

Estas cartas fueron enviadas a comunidades de creyentes y luego se compartieron en voz alta en una reunión. Por lo general, fueron escritas en respuesta a algo conocido por el autor, pero oculto para nosotros mientras escuchamos su conversación dos mil años después.

Y segundo, aunque los efesios es una de las letras paulinas, es lo que se llama una "carta en disputa". Es más probable que uno de los propios discípulos de Pablo que querían escribir en la misma tradición o estilo que Pablo lo haya escrito. Eso nos ayuda a comprender por qué Pablo a veces suena como un radical y otras veces un conservador y otros aún un reaccionario. ⁱ

El primer capítulo de Efesios es el saludo del autor a la comunidad en la isla griega de Éfeso.

La carta luego se acelera, y la porción que escuchamos hoy describe rápidamente a las personas como "estabais muertos en vuestros delitos y pecados, en los cuales anduvisteis " (v.1-2, RVR1960)

El escritor dice que estaban siguiendo poderes malévolos, incluidos "este mundo", “el príncipe de la potestad del aire" y  “la carne”. (v. 2-3, RVR1960) No necesitamos saber la naturaleza exacta de su pecado. Sabemos que el pecado nos separa de Dios, y sabemos que, debido a nuestra condición humana, todos pecamos diariamente y necesitamos el perdón de Dios. ⁱⁱ

El escritor dice: "Pero Dios" (2: 4)

Y con esas dos palabras, sabemos que no todo está perdido.

Dios interviene.

Dios actúa.

Dios salva.

Él escribe: "Pero Dios, que es rico en misericordia, por su gran amor con que nos amó ... nos dio vida juntamente con Cristo ...". (v. 4-5, RVR1960)

Estábamos muertos, pero ahora estamos vivos.

Éramos esclavos del pecado, pero ahora somos liberados en Cristo.

Éramos "hijos de la ira" (v.3, RVR1960) pero ahora somos agentes de gracia.

Espero que cada uno de ustedes sepa que las palabras de Dios son para ti. Nadie está fuera de la rica misericordia de Dios y su gran amor.

Cuando vivimos con confianza de que estamos en el abrazo de Dios, ya no nos condenamos a nosotros mismos ni a los demás, sino que buscamos cómo podemos compartir el amor de Dios con los demás. Estamos dotados de la vida en Cristo para poder compartir esa vida con los demás, con nuestra iglesia, nuestros vecinos y la comunidad.

Podemos ser Cristo para los demás a través de actos de servicio, como lo haremos el próximo mes cuando tengamos el sábado de servicio.

Pero a veces, es justo en casa donde necesitamos mostrar el mismo tipo de amor y misericordia que hemos recibido por primera vez. Está en nuestra relación con un cónyuge, un hermano, un niño o incluso un padre.

Lutero nos recuerda que "así como pecamos mucho contra Dios todos los días y, sin embargo, nos perdona a través de toda gracia, así siempre debemos perdonar a nuestro prójimo que nos hace daño, violencia e injusticia ...".ⁱⁱⁱ

El perdón es un trabajo duro. Pero aferrarse al resentimiento, la ira o el dolor simplemente perpetúa el daño. A lo largo de esta temporada de Cuaresma, estamos escuchando en las Escrituras y aprendiendo cómo perdonarnos a nosotros mismos y a los demás,

y cómo liberar y dejar a un lado el peso de la falta de perdón.

Cuando llegamos a saber lo que necesitamos, podemos confiar en que Dios responderá, y no dependerá de nuestros propio trabajo o esfuerzos. Y lo mismo es cierto para esta tarea. Debemos entregar nuestra ira a Dios y confiar en Dios para que trabaje para ayudarnos a perdonar.

Oremos…

Dios bueno y amable

Gracias por tu rica misericordia y gran amor por nosotros.

Ayúdanos a poner nuestros ojos en ti y poner nuestra mente en ti,

Recordando que te pertenecemos.

Haznos agentes de gracia para

que todos sepan  de tu abundante gracia.

Oramos en el nombre de tu Hijo, nuestro Señor y Salvador, Jesucristo.

Amén.

[i] John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg. The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary behind the Church’s Conservative Icon.

[ii] Martin Luther. Small Catechism. 39.

[iii] Martin Luther. Large Catechism, 453, 94.

Ephesians 2:1-10

Let us pray…         

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

One of my favorite phrases in Scripture shows up in today’s epistle, or letter, to the church at Ephesus. The phrase is “But God”.

Do you remember when Joseph confronts his brothers when the famine strikes Israel and they come to Egypt for help? He tells them, ⁸ So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. (Gen. 45:8 NRS) And, later he tells them,

²⁰ Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. (Gen. 50:20 NRS)

When the author of Acts speaks to the Israelites about Jesus, reminding them that they had killed him, he says,

²⁴ But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. (Act 2:24 NRS)

And in Paul’s letter to the Romans, he writes,

⁷ …rarely will anyone die for a righteous person… ⁸ But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. (Rom. 5:7-8 NRS)

Again and again, we are watching the story unfold and we think we know what will happen next, “but God” acts and the story changes.

So, I want us to look at what happens when we hear these words in Ephesians.

When we read the epistles, and particularly Ephesians, it’s helpful to remember three things.

First, we are eavesdropping on someone else’s conversation. These letters were sent to communities of believers and then shared aloud at a gathering. Usually, they were written in response to something known to the author but hidden from us as we listen in on their conversation two thousand years later.

And second, while Ephesians is one of the Pauline letters, it is what’s called a “disputed letter”. It was more likely written by one of Paul’s own disciples who wanted to write in the same tradition or style as Paul had written. That helps us understand why Paul sometimes sounds like a radical and other times a conservative and still others a reactionary.[i]

The first chapter of Ephesians is the author’s greeting to the community on the Greek island of Ephesus. The letter then picks up speed, and the portion we hear today swiftly describes the people as having “been dead through the trespasses and sins in which they once lived” (v.1-2)

The writer says they were following malevolent powers including “this world”, the ruler of the power of the air” and “the flesh”. (v. 2-3) We don’t need to know the exact nature of their sin. We know that sin separates us from God, and we know that because of our human condition, we all sin daily and need God’s forgiveness.[ii]

The writer then says, “But God,” (2:4)

And with those two words, we know that all is not lost.

God intervenes.

God acts.

God saves.

He writes, “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which God loved us… made us alive together with Christ….” (v. 4-5)

We were dead but now we are alive.

We were slaves to sin but now we are freed in Christ.

We were “children of wrath” (v.3) but now we are agents of grace.

I hope each of you knows that God’s words are for you. No one is outside of God’s rich mercy and great love.

When we live with confidence that we are held in God’s embrace, we no longer condemn ourselves or others, but look for how we can share God’s love with others. We are gifted with life in Christ so that we can share that life with others, with our church, our neighbors and community.

We can be Christ to others through acts of service, like we will do next month when we have Servant Saturday.

But sometimes, it’s right at home where we need to show the same kind of love and mercy that we have first received. It is in our relationship with a spouse, a sibling, a child or even a parent.

Luther reminds us that “Just as we sin greatly against God every day and yet he forgives us through all grace, so we must always forgive our neighbor who does us harm, violence and injustice,….”[iii]

Forgiveness is hard work. But holding onto resentment, anger or pain just perpetuates the harm. Throughout this season of Lent, we are listening in Scripture and learning how to forgive ourselves and others, and how to release and let go of the weight of unforgiveness. 

When we come to an awareness of what we need, we can trust that God will respond, and not depend on our own works or efforts. And the same is true for this task. We must surrender our anger to God and trust God to work to help us forgive.

Let us pray…

Good and gracious God,

Thank you for your rich mercy and great love for us.

Help us fix our eyes on you and set our minds on you,

remembering we belong to you.

Make us agents of grace

that everyone would know your abundant grace.

We pray in the name of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

---

[i] John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg. The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary behind the Church’s Conservative Icon.

[ii] Martin Luther. Small Catechism. 39.

[iii] Martin Luther. Large Catechism, 453, 94.