A Daily Lent

The Fourth Sunday of Lent Daily Reading: Luke 15:1 – 3; 11 – 32 Focus Passage : Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. . . . "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours

Saturday of the Third Week of Lent Daily Reading : Mark 8:1 – 10 Focus Passage : During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance." His disciples answered, "But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?" (Mk. 8:1 – 4) This Jesus-story holds significant meaning beneath the surface of the narrative. As a Gospel (Good News) story, it speaks of persons who are hungry and have nothing to eat. At the level of spiritual truth, it describes a soul-hunger. In spiritual stories, physical hunger is often a symbol for spiritual yearning; therefore, we are offered a different kind of food by Jesus in this story. Our human condition is characterized by

Friday of the Third Week of Lent Daily Reading : Mark 12:28 – 34 Focus Passage : One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mk. 12:28 – 31) The foundation of life with God is the experience of God’s Oneness and the experience of God’s love. These are non-negotiables, the foundation on which the rest of life relies. Christian spirituality has long held that the end of the spiritual life is Oneness. We are invited into a deeper union with God, which brings us into a new r

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent Daily Reading : Luke 11:14 – 23 Focus Passage : Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, "By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons." Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. Jesus knew their thoughts. . . . (Lk. 11:14 – 17a) If we can separate ourselves for a moment from the content of this text, interesting as it may be, I think we’ll find a word from Jesus about the nature of spiritual teaching and the power of spiritual wisdom. Authentic spirituality separates us from lies and illusions. It is the nature of the spiritual life to expose the false self, that is, the illusory ego-self that orders life around itself. This false self exists in human persons, in institutions, in social groups, and in larger national entities. Sometimes for a social group, this falsity is manifested in

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent Daily Reading : Matthew 5:17 – 19 Focus Passage : "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matt. 5:17) Many contemporaries of Jesus would have heard these words and fought for a more rigid code by which to live. It is can be a good thing to have a code of ethics which orders life, distilling life down to some fundamental rules to keep and regulations to follow. I am among the many who want someone to tell me what the rules are and what is expected of me. Then, I can work toward doing all the right things, thus bringing happiness and fulfillment. In my mentality, if you can show me what the expectations are, I can work to meet or exceed them. I can be a very accomplished rules-keeper! But rules-keeping is not to be confused with a full and authentic life. In fact, in my efforts to do right by the regulations, I may in fact miss what is deepest and most

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent Daily Reading : Matthew 18:21 – 35 Focus Passage : Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive someone who sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." (Matt. 18:21 – 22) Often in the Gospels people asked Jesus a question out of a particular personal motivation, only to find that Jesus didn’t answer their question. Rather, he raised new questions, or redirected their question to that which was relevant to the kingdom of God. Peter asked a question about forgiveness. “How many times should I forgive another? Seven times?” It was a generous question. Most of us don’t get past three. But there was an unspoken part of Peter’s question: “How many times should I forgive someone else before I take matters into my own hands?” Peter’s background in Jewish law restrained him from excessive retaliation, limiting vengeance to “e

Monday of the Third Week of Lent Daily Reading : Luke 4:24 – 30 Focus Passage : "Truly I tell you," he continued, "prophets are not accepted in their hometowns. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian." All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. (Lk. 4:24 – 28) The passage actually begins ahead of these verses. The people of Jesus’ hometown were amazed at the gracious words of Jesus when he read from the prophet Isaiah. He connected his life and ministry to the long-awaited Messiah of Isaiah’s prophecy. Knowing his lineage as Joseph’s son (v. 22, “ Isn’t this Joseph’s s

The Third Sunday of Lent Daily Reading : Luke 13:1 – 9 Focus Passage : Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." (Lk. 13:1 – 5) The story and parable have an odd and convoluted sense about them, especially for those of us disconnected by centuries from the events to which the narrative alludes. First, notice that Jesus addressed a general group of people, “some present at that time.” The audience was not disciples, scribes and Pharisees, or the Sadducees, but a more general, more amb

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent Daily Reading : Luke 15:1 – 3; 11 – 32 Focus Passage : Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and

Friday of the Second Week of Lent Daily Reading : Matthew 21:33 – 46 Focus Passage : "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. . . . "'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? (Matt. 21:38 – 39, 42) God has no interest in forcing a kingdom of Love and Transformation on people. The very act of forcing Love and Transformation on another would violate the essence of love and transformation. God is patient, waiting long for persons to wake up to the reality of this life-giving kingdom, sending all sorts of messengers and servants to announce the kingdom and to collect the fruit of the kingdom. We humans, though, are fickle. Rarely do we allow that there could be another plan larger than our own. Infrequently do

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent Daily Reading : Mark 6:7 – 13 Focus Passage : Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt." (Mk. 6:7 – 9) Jesus sent his twelve disciples into the world to carry on his life-work. They went out to do the very things Jesus was doing. In essence, they were his feet and hands, his mind and heart, his ears and lips and eyes as they went into the world. The disciples had no special schooling for this Jesus-work of driving out demons and praying over the sick for healing. They had only their experience with Jesus, their apprenticeship to the One who did these things normally and naturally as a part of who he was. The passage moves quickly to Jesus “sending out” the Twelve, but if we miss the first phrase, the rest

Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent Daily Reading : Matthew 20:17 – 28 Focus Passage : Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!" Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. "What is it you want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom." (Matt. 20:17 – 21) The reading lays the clear-headed, discerning way that Jesus dealt with life-matters alongside the illusions with which others operated on a regular basis. Jesus recognized the path that had been laid before him, a di

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent Daily Reading : Matthew 23:1 – 12 Focus Passage : Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. "Everything they do is done for people to see.” (Matt. 23:1 – 5) The Pharisees and teachers of the law have a bad Sunday School reputation. We’ve beat up on them for years, cast them as the “bad guys,” as those who were stubborn and opposed to Jesus, as those who stood in the way of God. In truth, their faith expression was much like ours, consisting in prescribed rituals and regulations for life. As a group, they were not nefarious people. They simply insisted on putting new wine into old wines

Monday of the Second Week of Lent Daily Reading : Luke 6:36 – 38 Focus Passage : “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Lk. 6:36 – 38) Those who dismiss Jesus as Messiah but glibly call him a good teacher are either extremely naïve or terribly misinformed. Those who put forth Jesus’ teachings as a way to get ahead in the world haven’t listened deeply to his teachings. Try taking his words in this passage into your workplace, school, politics, or neighborhood group. You won’t get you very far in our culture’s framework. Mercy, non-judgment, forgiveness, generosity, and a refusal to condemn are not recipes for success, corporately or personall

The Second Sunday of Lent Daily Reading : Luke 9:28 – 36 Focus Passage : Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. (Lk. 9:32) Eastern Orthodox Christians value this story of Jesus’ transfiguration, noting its central place in the gospel narratives. You can make the case that Jesus spent the first half of his ministry headed toward this mountain, where he “went up” with Peter, John and James. When he came down the mountain, he began the deliberate move toward Jerusalem, betrayal, trial, and crucifixion. My own spirituality has been shaped by an understanding of the story which comes from the Eastern Orthodox tradition. This interpretation of the transfiguration says that the real miracle in the story is not that Jesus’ appearance changed and that his clothes became bright; rather, the real miracle in this story is that the disciples “became fully awake” and saw Jesus – finally! – as he r

Saturday of the First Week of Lent Daily Reading : Matthew 5:43 – 48 Focus Passage : "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt. 5:43 – 48) Jesus holds the tension between neighbor and enemy, evil and good, righteous and unrighteous, “your own people” and “pagans.” Most of us see those poles as options, making a choice from each pair. In some religious systems, even God is viewed as making a choice, favoring the neighbor, the good, and t

Friday of the First Week of Lent Daily Reading : Matthew 5:20 – 26 Focus Passage : "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. (Matt. 5:21 – 22) We have inherited a version of Christianity largely made up of moral demands and ethical guidelines for living a certain way. This expression of the Christian life carries certain ideas about what “goodness” is. For many people, being “Christian” is equated with being “good.” However, it is very, very easy to spend a lifetime within the context of traditional Christianity, keeping rules and never having a significant encounter with God as revealed in Jesus. Keeping

Thursday of the First Week of Lent Daily Reading : Matthew 7:7 – 12 Focus Passage : “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened. (Matt. 7:7 – 8) Jesus did not prescribe a formula for success in prayer – as if there were such a thing! He described the tensions we hold in prayer. He invited us to hold the tensions between asking and receiving, seeking and finding, knocking and entering. Each pole has its place in our prayer, in our relating to God. You might think of it this way: There is a time to ask of God, as well as a time to open oneself to receive what God gives. There is a time to seek relentlessly, and a time to celebrate that which has been found. There is a time to knock on many different doors, and a time to see which doors are open already, then walk through them. In all, the three phrases remind us t

Wednesday of the First Week of Lent Daily Reading : Luke 11:29 – 32 Focus Passage : “The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now one greater than Jonah is here.” (Lk. 11:32) Don’t let yourself drown in analysis of the passage. Jesus used two sets of figures – Jonah in Nineveh and the Queen of the South listening to Solomon – which would have made a point with his original hearers about their willingness to adjust their lives. We may not fully understand the images, but Jonah with the people of Nineveh and Solomon with the “Queen of the South” likely would have been recognizable to Jesus’ first-century hearers. We, therefore, can immediately get over our fixation with knowing the intricacies of the references. If the names had been unrecognizable or obscure to Jesus’ original audience, he would have provided an explanation. Both references point to groups or persons who heeded t

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent Daily Reading: Matthew 6:7 – 15 Focus Passage: And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matt. 6:7 – 8) How have we turned prayer sideways? Depending on the translation you read, Jesus says do not babble, don’t use vain repetition, or don’t heap up empty phrases when you pray. The picture is almost comical, as if someone learning to pray observed someone else praying, then merely repeated that person’s language, rhythm, posture, and voice inflection. As a pastor, I learned years ago how to use vocabulary, tone, and volume to make my public prayers sound like they were connecting with God. That they were generally hollow mattered less to me than that people thought I was offering a meaningful prayer. I hope God laughs about those days more than weeps. While prayer is more caught than

Monday of the First Week of Lent Daily Reading: Matthew 16:13 –19 Focus Passage: "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matt. 16:15 – 17) When Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say I am?” he had no interest in Peter’s opinion. Peter’s opinion was no more or less relevant than the next person’s opinion. The question was not about Peter’s belief system or about how much information he had accumulated concerning Jesus. Jesus asked Peter about his experience. “Who have you experienced me to be? What is the nature of our relationship?” It’s a good question, inviting us away from theory and prescribed answers. The question encourages us to consider our experience in the grit of life. After all, it is po

The First Sunday of Lent Daily Reading: Luke 4:1 – 13 Focus Passage: Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. (Lk. 4:1 – 2) This is a core Lenten reading. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, hearing God say, “You are my son, my beloved, the one who delights me.” Coming up from the water his core identity was confirmed, pressed deeply into his soul. Immediately from those waters, the Spirit led Jesus into the desert, where he fasted for 40 days and was tempted by satan. Matthew says more about fasting in his version of this story (Matt. 4:1 – 11), while Luke gives attention to the leadership of God’s Spirit and to the temptations themselves. Both accounts shape the Lenten season, where we take a 40 day walk with Jesus that involves fasting, self-denial, and inner cleansing. Satan (the name means “

Saturday after Ash Wednesday Daily Reading : Luke 5:27 – 32 Focus Passage : After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. (Lk. 5:27 – 28) Jesus was invitational. He did not influence by coercion. He didn’t force followers. Rather, he extended invitations. He invited persons to follow him, to take on his way of seeing the world and his way of living in the world. He invited those he met to full personhood, becoming completely who God created them to be, even as he embodied what it meant to be fully human and fully God. The human response to his invitation varies person-by-person. This tax collector, on the underside of social acceptability, got up, left everything, and followed Jesus. For all of us, there is some kind of “leaving” involved as we follow Jesus. There is a movement from one way of being to a new stance of being with G

Friday after Ash Wednesday Daily Reading : Matthew 9:14 – 15 Focus Passage : Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.” (Matt. 9:14 – 15) Don’t get lost in over-analysis of the passage. For a moment, simply hear Jesus say, “There is a time to fast and a time not to fast.” Let me explain why I think these words are important. Spiritual practices help us sustain a spiritual life. We do not come into a deep and life-giving connection to God by accident, as if we were a pinball that bounced randomly from place to place, and finally happened to hit the right bell. We set our intention on God. Spiritual practices are part of that intentional life. Fasting is a cornerstone spiritual practice. It involves saying “n

Thursday after Ash Wednesday Daily Reading : Luke 9:22 – 25 Focus Passage : Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for you to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit your very self?” (Lk. 9:23 – 25) “Discipline” and “denial” are dirty words for plenty of people. The words reinforce stereotypes many people hold about what it means to follow Jesus. And many Christians feel intimidated because the words suggest something difficult and unattainable. Yet, Jesus said that those who follow and learn from him (disciples) must “deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow.” To be sure, words like “acquisition” and “accumulation” would be friendlier to modern ears. Westerners seem to be wired to “have more” and “do better.” In every facet of life, we live

Ash Wednesday Daily Reading : Matthew 6:1 – 6 Focus Passage : "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matt. 6:5 – 6) Jesus recognized our tendency to perform religious acts in order to receive a reward. It is easy enough to attend worship, engage in prayer, serve at the shelter, or give time in our favorite ministry, hoping someone will notice. Or we may hope secretly to receive some blessing because of our spiritual practice. In Jesus’ teaching, the “trumpets” and “street corners” symbolize spiritual practice which we undertake for external reward. Who among us is not concerned with how we look before others? We guard our reputations and fret

Shrove Tuesday March 5, 2019 Tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of Lent. Many of us will attend a church service in which ashes are marked upon our foreheads. We will hear the traditional Ash Wednesday litany that reminds us, “Remember, from dust you have come, and to dust you shall return.” I will be with the Senior Pastor of First United Methodist Church of Rogers, wearing a ministerial robe and clerical stole, standing in 36 degree temperatures, waiting in a parking lot in Downtown Rogers, Arkansas, to impose ashes on the foreheads of those who drive by. The car pulls up. “What is your name?” “Maria.” “Maria, remember your creation in God . . . from dust God created you . . . and remember your humanity . . . to dust you shall return.” The car drives away. It seems a bit mundane, imposing ashes as people pull up in their cars, rather than in the formality of an Ash Wednesday service in a beautiful Chapel somewhere. Yet, what better way to remember our human