Lent

March 26, 2023

Scripture Reading: John 11:1-45

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. –John 11:28-45

How much do we still expect the Lord to prove that he is who he says he is? In Luke 4, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test. This is in the story of Jesus’s wilderness quest, where the devil presented Jesus with three temptations.  The final one essentially asked Jesus to prove that he was the Son of God by throwing himself off the mountainside and seeing if God would send angels to save him. From the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus knew by faith his calling and accepted the challenges of his assignment, perhaps not the details but the possible consequences of achieving his mission.

Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

We are called to continue that mission and vision to this day, and it is, by faith, that we will accomplish God’s vision of a world ruled by love.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we let the world’s challenges try to redirect our mission. Grant us the courage that faith requires. 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.