Lent
April 17, 2019
Scripture Reading: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
The Lord is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation. –Psalm 118:14
From what do I need to be saved? The world “salvation” loses meaning as it incapsulates a universal view without drilling down to specifics. That often plays out in whether one is destined for heaven or expelled to hell, which does not help a lot in the present situation. Drilling down into the depths of our relationship with God, discovering the shredded threads of our lives that separate us from God can and will provide the basis for repairing torn places in our souls.
I must start with myself for we must learn to love ourselves before we can ever love our neighbors as they need to be love. I like the illustration of the instructions we receive after boarding an airplane. A steward says something to the effect that if an emergency arises requiring the use of oxygen and we are seated next to someone who needs help accessing the oxygen masks, we are to first put on our masks because we would be no help to someone if we faint from lack of oxygen before we get the other person connected.
Becoming aware of our faults or sins or whatever we want to call them, seeking forgiveness, and turning away from continuing negative ways is not the only examination needed. We also need to become aware of our patterns of living that may be appropriate for us but may not be for another. We limit our ability to love these others if we can only love them when they are willing to become like us. I was born into a family with a strong work ethic and it seems to work well for my family. Others may not share in that cultural trait and their ideas about work may differ markedly from mine. I would have just as much difficulty changing my work ethic as they have changing their understanding of work. Until I understood that I was not able to help people who were never taught the value of work to learn to live in a world that expected them to be self-supportive.
Our wholeness is paramount to attaining the oneness to which Christ calls us. Our wholeness together in Christ’s oneness is the foundation of God’s justice.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for sending Jesus to be a plumb line against we can assess our wholeness. Amen.
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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.