Lent

March 17, 2022

Scripture Reading:

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. –1 Corinthians 10:1-5

People who identify as Christians all read the same Bible and, too often, see what we want to see. There is a campaign ad running in Oklahoma against Governor Stitt regarding the crimes of one of the 400+ people who were granted early release under a program to reduce the sentences of people already in prison. This is not an endorsement of any candidate for office. It is an example of how totally different people understand the same stories. The man killed a woman cut out her heart, cooked it, and when some of the man’s family members refused to eat it, he killed them. The ad is saying the current Governor is not tough enough on crime. I saw it as the story of our total lack of appropriate mental health services in the state of Oklahoma. The man was not recommended for release, and, indeed there may be some people who need to be confined for the protection of others, but society has a responsibility to offer them every opportunity to find wholeness and to be the best person they can be. He could have committed the same crime in prison, killing other prisoners or prison staff. We just executed another mentally ill man who killed a member of the prison staff. That crime, too, was preventable had he received appropriate care.

Our scripture today talks about the fact that the Israelites had access to the God of love who fed them all the same spiritual food and drink, but some did not like its taste.

In times like these you need an anchor;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!*

Prayer: Lord, help us clearly see the needs of all your children and work to help them attain wholeness. Amen.

First verse of hymn In Times Like These by Ruth Caye Jones See at https://namethathymn.com/christian-hymns/in-times-like-these-lyrics.html

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.