Lent 2014
March 23, 2014

 Read Scripture: Romans 5:1-11 

…knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. —Romans 5:3b-5  

Ralph Waldo Emerson put it this way: Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. [Emphasis added] He is right; you know. Paul is saying something very similar in our scripture today. The computer language that we might hear is garbage in=garbage out. All of these pithy sayings are trying to get across the point that what we invest of our time, talent, and resources is really the only thing that can solve the stubborn problems of the world. We would all like to wave a magic wane and say abracadabra and set everything right but we cannot. I honestly think it is better this way, for we are more apt to appreciate something in which we have invested ourselves. 

We thus do not enter lightly into striving with our neighborhood school toward quality education. We are not only called to serve but to suffer with them. For if we are unable to empathize with their suffering, then we are still on the outside looking in. In reality receiving a less than perfect education experience may not seem like suffering at all to children whose only food is served at school. We need to realize that by targeting a quality education, for some of these children, we are applying our values not theirs or their parents’ values. Our interchanges with parents and children may need to involve telling them or showing them exactly why we think education is of importance without making them feel oppressed. It is a tall order to move from suffering to hope; therefore, we must be strong in endurance and always be of good character.  

Prayer: God of Hope, help us to be wellsprings of hope and not the source of further oppression. Amen.

The identities of students, families, or staff in stories that are shared in the devotions have been altered to protect their privacy. Any similarities between these stories and the experience of others are coincidental. No stories about students, families of students, or staff from Putnam Heights Elementary School are included in any of these devotions.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.