Lent
March 2, 2023
Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)
When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. –1 Corinthians 2:1-4
How do we spread the good news of Jesus Christ? Or do we spread the good news of Jesus Christ? Do we live lives that give credence to the worth of following a God of love who blessed us with the life, even death, and especially the resurrection of the One whom God called Son, Jesus Christ?
Pew Research Center projects that Christians will make up less than half of the American population by 2070, with estimated ranges for that year falling between 35% and 46% of the American population (down from 64% in 2022 and from 91% in 1976) *. I could never identify with some of the actions being credited to Christianity today. What Paul might have called lofty words or wisdom. The Prosperity Gospel is an example.
Is our world operating in the way Jesus wanted it to work? Are the hungry fed, the naked clothed, the sick healed, strangers welcomed, and prisoners restored to wholeness? Does everyone love their neighbor as they love themselves? Do we all even love ourselves?
This little light of mine
I’m going to let it shine
Oh, this little light of mine
I’m going to let it shine
This little light of mine
I’m going to let it shine
Let it shine, all the time, let it shine**
Prayer: Lord, make us full partners in spreading your love to the whole world and forgive us for being a stumbling block for all to know and live in God’s love. Amen.
*https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/
**Chorus from This Little Light of Mine by Harry Dixon Loes see at https://allnurseryrhymes.com/this-little-light-of-mine/
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.