Lenten Devotions - March 29th

(excerpted from free indeed: devotions for Lent 2017, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis)

The Sacrament of Holy Baptism:

What is baptism?

Baptism is not simply plain water.  Instead, it is water used according to God's command and connected with God's word.

What then is this word of God?

Where our Lord Christ says in Matthew 28, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

To Ponder:

We are Christians today because Jesus has called us.  He has called us through others - through others who themselves were called, and who upon being called also received the commission to go and teach.  Therefore, while not forgetting that we have been commissioned to go and teach, it is also important to remember that we have been called and thought by others.
      - Justo L. González, Jesus Calls

Word and Water United:

The baptismal waters flow through more than twenty centuries of the faithful gathering around fancy fonts or on earthen banks doing what Jesus commands.  Water varies: different mineral components, sometimes a scarce commodity, other times an overwhelming presence, standing water or flowing, a few drops or full immersion.  But, the word that is spoken over the waters unites this diversity.  God promises to speak and speaks the promise in every time and place.  The divine eternal word enters into our particularity, rippling out from that first incarnation splash.  In fact, since the human body is about 60 percent water, when the word first became flesh, the word became water!  Since Jesus has entered history, word and water are united.

We speak that word on God's behalf to baptismal candidates:  you are a child of God, hija de Dios, Gotteskind, marked by the cross of Christ-forever - the word first spoken to us.  The white gowned day is but the beginning of this pronouncement as we grow together into Jesus - shaped discipleship.

Prayer:

Lord, speak to us that you might speak through us of your will to embrace all people.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

Lenten Devotions - March 28th

(excerpted from free indeed: devotions for Lent 2017, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis)

The Lord's Prayer - Conclusion:

[For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.] Amen.

What is this? or What does this mean?

That I should be certain that such petitions are acceptable to and hard by our Father in heaven, for he himself commanded us to pray like this and has promised to hear us.  "Amen, amen" means "Yes, yes, it is going to come about just like this."

To Ponder:

Because you are the one in charge, and you have all the power, and the glory is all yours forever - which is just the way we want it!
       - Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy

Power Talk:

In many Hispanic Lutheran churches, folks stand up and share how God has answered the prayers of the faithful during the week through the healing of an illness, a life rescued from the ravages of addiction, and so on.  As they speak of the power of God over their lives and how their prayers were answered, folks in the congregation chime in, like an echo, with their agreement.  All of this proclaims that God knows us and is in control of our lives.  God hears and answers our prayers.  God has all the power in the world and all glory and honour belong to the Holy One.

Jesus ushers in the reign of God with his life.  He gives us a dynamic witness of the power of God over sin, death, and all evil.  Because of this, we too have a power story to tell.  That is why we say, "Amen!"

Prayer:

O Lord, may the power talk of my life honour your holy name.  Amen.

Lenten Devotions - March 27th

(excerpted from free indeed: devotions for Lent 2017, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis)

The Lord's Prayer - The Seventh Petition:

And deliver us from evil.

What does this mean? or What is this?

We ask in this prayer, as in a summary, that our Father in heaven may deliver us from all kinds of evil - affecting body or soul, property or reputation - and at last, when our final hour comes, may grant us a blessed end and take us by grace from this valley of tears to himself in heaven.

To Ponder:

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.

       - Martin Luther King Jr., "I Have a Dream"

Sitting For Justice:

African American spirituals gave voice to the experience of being enslaved and longing for freedom. In a time when they were given no voice or power, people sang their woes in the heat of the cotton fields.

Years later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a new day and fought for civil rights.  He joined forces with the seamstress Rosa Parks when she refused to surrender her seat of a bus.  They believed that all men and women are created equal.  From them we learn that we condone evil when we don't question injustice.  There are times when we need to take a seat for justice and times when we need to take a stand and speak.

Today we continue to deal with the results of the evil institution of slavery.  Its legacy of racism affects all of us.  We ask for the courage and the wisdom to combat the forces that would dehumanize anyone.  We pray for a more just world where all live in dignity.

Prayer: 

O Lord, with Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., empower me to sit for justice and speak boldly agains evil.  Amen.

Lenten Devotions - March 26th

(excerpted from free indeed: devotions for Lent 2017, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis)

The Lord's Prayer - The Sixth Petition:

Save us from the time of trial.

What is this? or What does this mean?

It is true that God tempts no one, but we ask in this prayer that God would preserve and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great and shameful sins, and that, although we may be attacked by them, we may finally prevail and gain the victory.

To Ponder:

Deny me those gratifying invitations, those highly interesting contacts, that participation in the brilliant movements of our age, which I so often, at such risk, desire.

    - C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms

Prayerful Resistance:

Years ago I was a trial attorney.  AS a public defender I prosecuted folks whose actions had injured others.  It was not an easy task.  Many folks had unwittingly fallen into a trap of misguidance and misdirection.  They failed to think seriously about the consequences their actions would have on others or themselves.  They had been tempted by lies of quick and easy money or self-gratification.  They had been entrapped by their own schemes and drawn deeper and deeper into illegal activity.

C.S. Lewis reminds us how easy it is for all of us to be misled by others, misdirected by our own self-centeredness, and deceived by temptations that appear to be innocent.  In the Lord's Prayer we entrust ourselves to God's care and keeping, knowing that Christ has already defeated temptation and sin.

Prayer:

Help me not to be deceived, O Lord, during times of trial.  Amen.

Lenten Devotions - March 25

(excerpted from free indeed: devotions for Lent 2017, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis)

The Lord's Prayer - The Fifth Petition:

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

What is this? or What does this mean?

We ask in this prayer that our heavenly Father would not regard our sins nor deny these petitions on their account, for we are worthy of nothing for which we ask, nor have we earned it.  Instead we ask that God would give us all things by grace, for we daily sin much and indeed deserve only punishment.  So, on the other hand, we, too, truly want to forgive heartily and to do good gladly to those who sin against us.

To Ponder:

We know that in all creation only the human family has strayed.  We know that we are the ones who are divided and we are the ones who much come back together.  Teach us love, compassion, honour, that we may heal the earth and heal each other.
   - Steven McFadden, The Little Book of Native American Wisdom

Healing for broken people and places:

In the ancient Greek sport of archery, to miss the mark meant that the archer failed to hit a bull's-ey with his arrow.  We "miss the mark" when we sin by being hurtful or dishonest in our dealings with others.  We miss the mark by failing to see that we are all connected to God and to the creation.

Native Americans have long taught that we are all related and that what affects one affects all.  As a result, they recognize that we have a responsibility to care for each other and the creation.  In their prayers they ask for wisdom to heal the divisions between people and to heal the creation that has been spoiled by greed and misuse.

Our relationship with God, the source of all that is good, makes it possible for us to bring healing to a broken world.  We do this as we receive forgiveness and forgive others.  We do this as we care for each other and for the world that God loves.

Prayer:

Lord, let my prayer bring healing and unity to others and the earth.  Amen.

Lenten Devotions - March 24

(excerpted from free indeed: devotions for Lent 2017, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis)

The Lord's Prayer - The Fourth Petition:

Give us today our daily bread.

What is this? or What does this mean?

In fact, God gives daily bread without our prayer, even to all evil people, but we ask in this prayer that God cause us to recognize what our daily bread is and to receive it with thanksgiving.

What then does "daily bread" mean?

Everything included in the necessities and nourishment for our bodies, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, farm, fields, livestock, money, property, and upright spouse, upright children, upright members of the household, upright and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, decency, honour, good friends, faithful neighbours, and the like.

To ponder:

I hunger for filling in a world that is starved.  - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

Compartir el pan:

My father and mother had a store in South Texas when I was growing up.  We sold a great deal of food to folks from both sides of the U>S> - Mexico border.  When my parents taught me to treat everyone with respect, that was their way of telling me that everyone had dignity.  At times we would give people at the store a pilón, or extra portion.  That was our way of sharing and showing gratitude.  My mother also would ask me to take plates of food from our kitchen stove to the neighbours or to someone in need.  I have fond memories of those days when compartir el pan ("share the bread" in Spanish) meant that I would take a portion of the food from our table and share it with our neighbours.  

South Texas was farm country, and often our farmer friends and ranchers would bring their produce to us as gifts of the harvest.  We were connected to each other and to the land in a way that revealed the goodness of God for all of the creation.  We were sustained by the land and the friendships that gave us life.

Prayer:

Lord, grant me a hunger for just sharing that all may be filled.  Amen.

Lenten Devotions - March 23

(excerpted from free indeed: devotions for Lent 2017, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis)

The Lord's Prayer - The Third Petition (continued):

How does this come about?

Whenever God breaks and hinders every evil scheme and will - as are present in the will of the devil, the world, and our flesh - that would not allow us to hallow God's name and would prevent the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven, and instead whenever God strengthens us and keeps us steadfast in his word and in faith until the end of our lives.  This is God's gracious and good will.

To Ponder: 

Inside of me there are two dogs.  One is mean and evil and the other is good and they fight each other all the time.  When asked which one wins I answer, the one I feed the most.
  - Sitting Bull, in Sitting Bull: The Collected Speeches

Fight The Good Fight:

In his attempt to reform the church of his day, Martin Luther made many enemies - people who did not agree with him and his interpretation of the scriptures.  At times, Luther felt as if the whole world had turned against him.  He believed that his fiercest enemies, however, were the devil, the world, and his own sinful nature.  Luther's inner struggle was so intense that he once threw an inkwell at a wall in his room, as if throwing it at the devil.

Eventually Luther found consolation and assurance in the fact that he was a baptized child of God.  God's grace had been poured out on him and would not let him go.  Luther could confidently say, "I am baptized!"

Prayer:

Lord, keep me faithful to your will for my life and the world.  Amen

Lenten Devotion - March 22

(excerpted from free indeed: devotions for Lent 2017, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis)

The Lord's Prayer - The Third Petition:

Your will be done on earth as in heaven.

What is this? or What does this mean?

In fact, God's good and gracious will comes about without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may also come about in and among us.

To Ponder:

When we pray that God's will be done on earth as in heaven, we acknowledge our obedience to the divine authority.  The acknowledging of the desire that God's will be done or earth where we are implies, by contrast, that our will is not the one to govern our lives on earth: 
"Your will be done."

Jesus teaches us to pray acknowledging that God's will is to be supreme over our human will.

  - Alicia Vargas, "The Prayer That Jesus Taught Us."

Trusting God's Lead:

Have you looked up to the heavens and wondered what the purpose of your life might be?  You may have asked, why am I here?  Before I became a pastor I practiced law in South Texas.  I thought I had found my calling in life.  It was a very fulfilling vocation.  I often sensed that some folks were looking for someone they could talk to about their problems.  I would pray with my clients and ask God to show them what they should do, what direction they should take.  When my pastor started insisting that I go to seminary, I was a bit confused.  On one occasion he introduced me to a church leader who wrote to inform me that he was praying for me.  I started looking up to the heavens and asking for divine guidance.

After much prayer I decided that this must be the will of God and that God was asking me to trust that this was something I was called to do.  As I learned to let go of the work that I so enjoyed and to trust that God was leading me in a new direction, my prayer became, "Your will be done."

Prayer:

Holy God, help me to listen to your Spirit and follow your will.  Amen.

Lenten Devotion - March 21st

(excerpted from free indeed: devotions for Lent 2017, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis)

The Lord's Prayer - The Second Petition:

Your kingdom come.

What is this? or What does this mean?

In fact, God's kingdom comes on its own without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may also come to us.

How does this come about?

Whenever our heavenly Father gives us his Holy Spirit, so that through the Holy Spirit's grace we believe God's holy word and live godly lives here in time and hereafter in eternity.

To ponder:

WE believe in the Reign of God - the day of the Great Fiesta when all the colours of creation will form a harmonious rainbow, when all peoples will join in joyful banquet, when all tongues of the universe will sing the same song.   - Justo L. González, "A Hispanic Creed"

The day of the great fiesta:

Justo González refers to the kingdom of God as a reign or rule when all of creation will be in harmony.  In his popular creed he invites us to believe that in this reign everyone is invited and no one is left out.  He shares Martin Luther's confidence that the rule of God comes to us as a gift of grace and joy.

We see sign of God's reign at our baptism when we receive the Holy Spirit and the assurance that we belong to the family of God.  We see it when the church embraces us with hospitality and together we sing songs of praise that fill our hearts.  We see it when we confess our faith and promise to lead lives of goodwill toward everyone.  Because we seek to do the will of God, we pray that the Holy Spirit will use our spiritual gifts and talents to create a world where all people will have their needs met and where everyone will share in the bounty of God's grace.  We pray that we may play a part in making this new creation a fiesta for everyone to enjoy and celebrate the goodness of God!

Prayer:

Come, Holy Spirit, and renew the whole creation!  Amen.

Lenten Devotion - March 20th

(excerpted from free indeed: devotions for Lent 2017, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis)

The Lord's Prayer, The First Petition:

Hallowed be your name.

What is this? or What does this mean?

It is true that God's name is holy in itself, but we ask in this prayer that it may also become holy in and among us.

How does this come about?

Whenever the word of God is taught clearly and purely and we, as God's children, also live holy lives according to it.  To this end help us, dear Father in heaven!  However, whoever teaches and lives otherwise than the word of God teaches, dishonours the name of God among us.  Preserve us from this, heavenly Father!

To ponder:

Holy, holy, holy, my heart, my heart adores you.

My heart is glad to say the words: You are holy, God.

Santo, santo, santo, mi corazón te adora.

Mi corazón te sabe decir: Santo eres Señor.

  - Argentine traditional

Holy, holy, holy:

This traditional Argentinian hymn reminds us of the holiness of our God.  God's holiness does not mean that we cannot approach God, but that the one we know as the Ancient of Days is eternal and worthy of our deep respect and love.  This song praises, honours and blesses the name of the one we love.  The words remind us that we are called to lead lives that reflect God's holiness and way of being in the world.

To be holy means we are set apart for works of very and justice in the world.  Relating justly and honourably with all people is a value we cherish and teach.  Anything less is to harm our neighbour who is created in the image and likeness of God.  We pray that we might live faithful lives of service so that we may honour the name of the Holy One.

Prayer:

Sanctify me, O Lord, for your service.  Amen.

Lenten Devotion - March 19th

(excerpted from free indeed: devotions for Lent 2017, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis)

The Lord's Prayer:  Introduction

Our Father in heaven.

What is this? or What does this mean?

With these words God wants to attract us, so that we come to believe he is truly our Father and we are truly his children, in order that we may ask him boldly and with complete confidence, just as loving children ask their loving father.

To Ponder:

This is my Father's world;

I rest me in the thought

of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;

his hands the wonders wrought.

 - Maltbie D. Babcock, "This Is My Father's World"

Deeply Loved:

The hymn, "This Is My Father's World" praises God and reminds us that we are a part of the creation.  God is the ruler of the universe, of sea and sky and of all the living creatures of the world.  And yet, God know us personally and intimately; and, as the hymn says, speaks to us everywhere.  Everywhere.

We are deeply loved and cared for by God.  Because of this, we can approach the Father in heaven as a small child who trusts her parents for every good thing, for food and clothing, and for special care when she is ill or troubled.  Each of us can boldly ask God, who fashioned all of creation, for what we need.

Prayer:

Just as Jesus called his daddy, "Abba," so do I call you, "Papa."  Speak to me this day through the beauty of your creation.  Amen.

Lenten Devotion - March 18th

(excerpted from free indeed: devotions for Lent 2017, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis)

The Third Article:

What does this mean? (continued)

Daily in this Christian church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins - mine and those of all believers.  On the last day the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and will give to me and all believers in Christ eternal life.  This is most certainly true.

To Ponder:

Be faithful to the task of making justice and peace flourish; 

opt for God's cause and the law of love.

 - Ada Maria Isasi - Diaz, "Mujeristas: A Name of Our Own!!"

Freed to work for justice and peace:

The Holy Spirit is constantly nudging us to live into the forgiveness of our sins.  We move from focusing on ourselves and never believing we have enough to being open to the world around us and believing God's promise of abundance.  We act in ways that are freeing and seek out opportunities to serve and give and love.  We are empowered to co-create and transform present-day realities.  We are freed from sin to live in ways that promote justice and peace so that all may experience the love of God.  This is not just a "here after hope."  We pray that heaven on earth comes today, not tomorrow.

This way of thinking and being isn't possible without the Holy Spirit reminding us again and again of our purpose.  Listen.  Pay attention.  Follow.  The Spirit will lead you to a place where all flourish.

Prayer:

God, you ask us to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with you.  Help us to follow your Holy Spirit so that we may create your beloved kingdom here on earth.  Amen.

Lenten Devotion - March 17th

(excerpted from free indeed: devotions for Lent 2017, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis)

The Creed: The Third Article

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

What is this? or What does this mean?

I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith.

To Ponder:

I hope you will go out and let stories, that is life, happen to you ... water them with your blood and tears and your laughter till they bloom, till you yourself burst into bloom.

-Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run with the Wolves

Strategic storytelling:

The best stories bring about feelings of wholeness and completion, provide examples of love in various forms, or feature characters who overcome struggle.  Stories bind us together and help us to see life in a different way.

The Hebrew scriptures contain stories of how God related to humanity through the person of 

Jesus-Christ.  Jesus was a strategic storyteller - a person who knows how to use stories to convey messages, evoke feelings, and compel people to act.  

The Holy Spirit continues in this tradition, drawing out stories within us and others that point to who God is and what God desires.  We are called to co-create, with God, stories of liberation, freedom, compassion - and ultimately love.  In doing this, we become more fully ourselves and create 

life-giving relationships that transform all of creation.

Prayer:  

Holy Spirit, bring to life the stories yo have implanted so that we full embrace who we are and whose we are in faith.  Amen.