Lent 2014
April 7, 2014
Read Scripture: Psalm 143
Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
for in you I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul. — Psalm 143:8
God as teacher is eternal. Sometimes I think we read the gospels and take in the lessons that Jesus shared with His disciples and do not consider that He continues to teach us every day, if we are attentive to His messages. Humans never stop learning. Babies learn at such a fast pace that we can actually observe moments of understanding as they comprehend their hands and feet, our presence, and sound. Older children also are little learning machines. I can still remember the day I mastered the ability to skip. It was a long time coming for me, but it had not been for my siblings. As an adult, it is surprising how often I read a very familiar scripture and find new understanding. Awaking in awareness is also evident in life experiences when we might think, “Now I see more clearly what Jesus meant when he said, Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.”
I rather think that God targets God’s lessons at times when we might be more opened to gleaning from them. For some reason at this point in my life, I am taking in more and more about Christ’s resurrection marking the initiation of God’s kingdom on earth and that we, who call ourselves Christians, are partners in the full roll out of that Kingdom. In that regard I am more like the child described above moving everyday toward being able to skip as God moves everyday toward making all things new. Such activity requires the bond of trust, the Psalmist describes in our scripture today, and our full participation.
Our schools reflect these same features. They must be so designed to impart knowledge at the very moment children are ready to receive it—a very big challenge with a class of 20+ students who are all at different places in development. A bond of trust must be present among parents, teachers, students, and the community. Currently that bond seems to be cracked if not broken. So as important as it is for us to support the actual process of learning, the greatest gift we might share is rebuilding trust.
Prayer: Lord, show us ways that we can be the connective tissue to rebuild trust within our education system. 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.