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The Lord will preserve you from all evil and will keep your life. The Lord will watch over your going out and you're coming in, from this time forth forevermore. —Psalm 121.7-8
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For the most part, living as we do in a wealthy country with virtually anything we could want within a click, it is easy to get lulled into a sense of self-reliance. In fact, self-reliance has become a value in our culture, as we hear of people living the American dream wherein they start with nothing and become anything they want to be through hard work and persistence.
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[Jesus answered,] The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ~ John 3.8
Do you hear it?
When a building collapses, there’s an estimated 48-hour window during which trapped victims might be rescued. More generous estimates expand that to five or six days, maximum. Beyond that, the odds of survival decrease significantly. But after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey on February 6th, rescue teams were still pulling survivors from the rubble nearly 10 days later!
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If faith for Abram looked like taking the next right step into an unknown future, then Nicodemus coming to ask about Jesus was certainly a great act of faith – stepping out in the dark of night to learn more about who Jesus was.
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How much did Abram lose when he responded to God’s command to leave his home and family, trusting that ‘the land God would show him’ would provide a future? I imagine the grief was palpable, and the fear great. Yet, in faith, Abram did the next right thing. He took the first step, then the next, and then the next. He couldn’t see the future, didn’t know what it held, but he knew who held it.
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I was recently at worship and noticed that the series of stained glass windows in the sanctuary highlighted several important stories from the Hebrew scriptures. What struck me about the image of Adam and Eve in the garden was that the only things visible were their hands, and the serpent’s body was wound around them like shackles, resulting in the poignant picture of what it is to be ‘bound to sin.’
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One Sunday a parishioner came to me and said, “I don’t think our worship is very welcoming. We say, ‘Good morning!’ and then proceed to talk about how awful we are with the confession and forgiveness. What must visitors think when we force them to talk about how bad we all are?”
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Lent calls us to repentance, to turn from that which does not give life. This week I invite you to write or make a list of all that is getting in the way of you experiencing the fullness of life in Christ. What are those things in the congregation that no longer give life?
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What defines you? What defines your faith community? Or rather, who defines you? In the gospel lesson for Sunday, the tempter tries to identify Jesus as the Son of God by the acts he performs rather than simply by who he is.
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“In these post-COVID years, I find myself wondering if church is experiencing just such a wilderness. Everything has changed, and our communities are doing their best to pick up the pieces and carry on, only the pieces we have don’t seem to fit our world anymore.”
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“Ok, time to get honest. Does the church ever start to feel like a burden? Or do you sometimes feel like being part of a congregation isn’t so different from being part of another organization that has finger-pointing or bad-mouthing?”
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After perhaps a year or more of not gathering on-site for Ash Wednesday services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, worshiping communities across a large swath of the US are dealing with or expecting severe weather that would prevent gathering on-site.
Conversations on social media have begun, as fellow worship planners ask one another what they are doing when assembling for worship on-site will not be possible.
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“Even when ashes are imposed while standing on street corners or reaching through car windows the words resonate, a vibration pulsing with the reality we all do our best to avoid: everything and everyone dies.”
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ELCA Worship shares their news for January, 2023.
Don't forget to visit ELCA.org/worship and click on "Worship Resources" for a library of liturgical and formational resources for use in your context. You might find something new (or new to you) and share it with others who help plan worship in your context. Blessings as we approach Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent.
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Students of all races at Collingswood High School in South Jersey recently protested two straight days over allegations of racism in their school. During the peaceful demonstration, students protested racial profiling, lack of inclusivity, and how their Black classmates are disproportionately disciplined.
In a recorded statement student Abygail St. Louis shares her frustration and why it has come to protesting for equal rights for her and her classmates. She says she would rather be in the classroom.
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Join us this season — on your own, in a small group or with your congregation — as we encounter the psalms anew and unite in our efforts to end hunger. Visit elca.org/40days to download or order a suite of resources to equip you on the journey.
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In the fall of 2021, the ELCA Worship Blog began a weekly series entitled, “Prompts for Prayers of Intercession.” Beginning this Lent, the blog series will be retitled, “For What Shall We Pray?”
This new title honors a more expansive understanding of the purpose of this resource. It is a weekly invitation for individuals, groups, and congregations to remain mindful of the needs of our world, and to lift one another up in prayer.
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Dr. Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was a celebrated poet, author, teacher, filmmaker, and civil rights activist, among other roles and accomplishments. When interviewed upon being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, Angelou reflected: “I’m always amazed when people walk up to me and say, “‘I’m a Christian.’ I think, ‘Already? You’ve already got it?’ I’m working at it…”
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The Psalms become our words when we don’t know how or what to pray. They give hope when all we have are sighs. This month, however you’re feeling—at home, work or school—take time to sit with your feelings. Ask your family how they’re feeling, listen to one another and trust that God holds you, no matter how you feel.
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