Lent 2014
April 5, 2014 

Read Scripture: Luke 24:44-53 

Then [Jesus] opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. — Luke 24:45-48  

Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words. –Francis of Assisi 

Over the past few years, how many church meetings have you attended that dealt with the decline of church attendance? Now, we talk about the decline of Christianity itself. We have all tried the latest and greatest new program or study, redesigned our worship, remodeled older buildings, or even changed locations. I wonder what would happen if we just did what Jesus did: loved God and loved our neighbors as we love ourselves. That implies moving outside our comfort zones and into a world that is largely alien to us. It may mean seeing the sacred in places and people with whom we most likely would never have associated had it not been for this call of the Messiah. 

Loving God and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves might result in new programs etc. It might mean using facilities in markedly different ways than originally intended. It might mean letting our light shine while keeping our mouths shut as St. Francis suggests above. It might mean asking the kinds of questions Jesus asked and really paying attention to the answers: “What do you want?” “What do you need?” I can think of no better place to pilot such an action than in support of educating our children. 

Love is a verb. It requires action. It does not require you to do everything. It does require you to do something and do it well with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Perhaps God knew it would be easier to love some neighbors if we did it in groups. It sometimes is easier to obey Christ’s admonition to fear not, when we have friends with us who are fearing not also. We call it the body of Christ. (Houses Divided page 119) 

Prayer: Creator of All makes us lovers of all. 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.