Daily Devotions

Welcome to our 5^th day of prayer as the people of Faith Lutheran Church. Our prayer theme for today is “Unity Among Members of Our Congregation.”

Today’s reading is from Ephesians 4, verses 1-3:

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Let’s pray together.

Offer a prayer thanking God for the church, which is always Christ’s church, and for our congregation. (PAUSE)

Thank God for those people in our congregation who have most profoundly influenced your life. (PAUSE)

Acknowledge before God that in times of change, well-meaning people often have differences of opinion. (PAUSE)

Ask God to build up our congregation and bring unity of purpose to all members and guests. (PAUSE)

Amen. May God bless you and keep you in God’s grace.

Welcome to our 4^th day of prayer as the people of Faith Lutheran Church. Our prayer theme for today is “Rededication of Our Lives to God.”

Our reading for today is from Romans 12, verses 1-2:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Let’s pray together.

Offer a prayer thanking God that you have been claimed as a child of God in the waters of your baptism, and through the blood of the cross have been forgiven all your sins. (PAUSE)

Acknowledge before God the countless ways in which this world pulls you away from God and God’s will for your life and seeks to conform you to its way. Be specific about those areas in which the urge to conform is the strongest. (PAUSE)

Ask God to transform you so that your life might reflect God’s will, and that you might reflect God’s love to those around you. (PAUSE)

Amen. May God bless you and keep you in God’s grace.

Welcome to our 3^rd day of prayer as the people of Faith Lutheran Church. Our prayer theme for today is “Deeper Trust in God”.

Our reading today is from Proverbs 3, verses 5-6:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Let’s pray together.

Offer a prayer giving thanks that God has come to you first in God’s Son, Jesus our Savior. (PAUSE)

Give thanks also that you can come to God for guidance as you walk life’s ways. (PAUSE)

Ask God to work in you through the Holy Spirit to deepen your trust in God and your reliance on God’s guidance. (PAUSE)

Amen. May God bless you and keep you in God’s grace.

Welcome to our 2^nd day of prayer as the people of Faith Lutheran Church. Our prayer theme for today is “Gratitude to God for God’s Grace and Blessings”.

Our reading for today is from Psalm 103, verses 1-5:

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits— who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Let’s pray together.

Offer a prayer to thank God for all the blessings God has showered upon you. Be specific. List important things first, then get to possessions. (PAUSE)

Ask God to guide you in your use of these blessings – your time, your talents, and your treasures. (PAUSE)

Consider areas in which you face challenges in giving God credit for your blessings. Ask for special help in these. (PAUSE)

Amen. May God bless you and keep you in God’s grace.

This week the people of Faith Lutheran Church are beginning a six week emphasis we call “Proclaim Jubilee.” Our ultimate goal is to help people grow in their relationship with God, in their own spiritual journey, by inviting them to participate in achieving three congregational goals: 1) To burn our mortgage and free up money for better purposes; 2) to make a significant gift to the Christian Community Service Center, of which we are a member congregation; and 3) To set aside money for a Building Improvement Fund so that we don’t have to borrow money in the future to do things like improving handicapped accessible on our campus.

Many people on this Devotions list are members of Faith, far more of you aren’t. Some of you have received daily stuff from me for years and you know that I go through seasons where I don’t feel compelled to write. Today, I’m inviting everyone to join with our congregation in 10 Days of Prayer. These daily prayer prompts come to us via the Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA. I hope you find them helpful.

Welcome to our 1^st day of prayer as the people of Faith Lutheran Church. Our prayer theme for today is “Guided by the Gospel.”

We have two readings for today. The first reading is from John 3, verse 16:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

The second reading is from Ephesians 2, verse 8:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—

Let’s pray together.

Offer a prayer of thanks that God loves us, forgives us, and redeems us as a pure gift. (PAUSE)

Pray that this wonderful Gospel message will guide us in all that we do as a congregation and as individuals. (PAUSE)

Ask God to guide you so the decisions you make, the way you relate to other people, and the actions you take might reflect the good and gracious news of God’s love. (PAUSE)

Amen. May God bless you and keep you in God’s grace.

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before all of them, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.”

When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.”

After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment the cock crowed.

Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. Matthew 26:69-75

True story. I remember it like yesterday. I went to Bible camp one time in middle school. It was 1974, the summer after 7^th grade. To call the camp I went to a “fundamentalist” camp makes your average run of the mill fundamentalist look liberal. It was both a horrible experience and an incredibly formative experience for me. I am a pastor, and I am the type of pastor I am, due in no small part to that camp.

They very well could have talked about the God who loves me but I don’t remember hearing it. I DO remember the God I needed to be afraid of, the one who already had sentenced me to hell if I didn’t change my ways and clean up my act. Hell was the default position for people to be in. Heaven was reserved for those in the club who said the right things and did the right things.

So I did what they told me to do. I accepted Jesus into my heart as my Lord and Savior at every available opportunity. Every campfire. Every evening speech. I said the words and did the deed and hoped against hope that I would be different when I got home.

The day I got home I went up to the middle school courts to play basketball. A high school player I admired was already there. We got to talking. He asked me if I had seen the movie showing downtown (it was The Exorcist.) My mind told me, “Now is your chance to WITNESS to your new-found faith in God! Tell him that is an evil movie and, as a new Christian, you don’t go to evil movies.” But my mouth just said, “No, I don’t go to movies like that.”

“Why is that?” he asked. My mind again, “Here is your chance! He’s giving you another chance! Tell him about your faith!!!” But my mouth just said, “I don’t know. I just don’t.” And the conversation moved on. I probably asked him to dunk one for me. I was a failure as a Christian.

I SO get Peter. All bluster and conviction gone in a puff at the slightest application of the right peer pressure. Real peer pressure – not the imaginary “our faith is under attack!!!” or we live in the days of “moral relativism where everyone decides for themselves what truth is” or “look out the gays are coming to get your kids!!!” – but REAL pressure. The kind that costs you something. The kind where actual stones might be coming your way. The kind where standing up for Jesus might leave you standing defenseless, all alone. Peter craters. And Jesus knew he would. I SO get Peter.

The one I don’t get is Jesus. He surrenders himself to his captors. He stands defenseless against his accusers. Soon he will suffer at the hands of the soldiers – always soldiers sent to do the actual dirty work of the politicians and religious leaders and the crowds. I don’t “get” Jesus in the sense that I have a hard time understanding such courage. Such love. Such mercy. Such grace.

I don’t get Jesus – but I, and all of us, Peters though we be – get all of the benefits of Jesus’ love. He did all he did, for us.

Let us pray: Dear Lord, we are in that courtyard with Peter. We too speak of our convictions and are so quick to defend those that divide, demean, and distort. But to speak of love and to act from a place of love, even at cost to ourselves, that is always the greater challenge for us. To stand up for you by standing up to the world…this is where we falter. Forgive us, inspire us, guide us, use us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. But Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end.

Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward.

At last two came forward and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’” The high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” But Jesus was silent.

Then the high priest said to him, “I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?” They answered, “He deserves death.”

Then they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?” Matthew 26:57-68

Jewish law demanded the testimony of at least two or three witnesses in accusing someone of sin (Deuteronomy 19:15). The irony is delicious. All of the religious leaders present are willing to stick to the letter of the law even as they purposely conspire to kill an innocent and harmless man on trumped up charges. Person after person came forward to accuse Jesus, perhaps to curry favor with the powerful religious leaders, but it wasn’t until someone made a charge against the temple itself that Jesus was condemned.

The trial was a sham. The religious leaders are blinded by their own self-preservation. This was a lynching. A sacrificial death intended to preserve the status quo of power, prestige, and position just as the lynching of thousands of African Americans served to preserve the power structures of white supremacy as well as warning others to stay in line or they might get it too.

I didn’t always see the death of Jesus in this way. I used to see it as a spiritual requirement and a noble death. I bought into the idea of the substitutionary atonement – that Jesus died so that we don’t have to face the penalty of our sins. Almost as if Jesus committed suicide in a noble cause.

I haven’t looked at it that way for a long time now. I have been convinced by the voices who have helped me see the story more clearly. Jesus was rejected, no doubt about that. And we will soon see that it was the religious leaders, the political leaders, and the crowds who each did their part. But Jesus didn’t fight it. He didn’t struggle against his attackers or mount a defense before his accusers. He handed himself over to them.

Jesus was the epitome of non-violent resistance. His motivation was always love. Even love for those who spat in his face and struck him. This is love. This is the love Jesus has for us.

Let us pray: Gracious Lord, to listen closely and to walk slowly with you through your arrest and your trial is to be humbled by your courage, touched by your love, and frustrated by the perversity of the powerful who ought to know better. Perhaps they do. Perhaps they don’t care. But we know now that we find our lives not in surrendering ourselves to your love and your ways of being in the world. Give us a measure of your love today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.” At once he came up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you are here to do.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.

Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?”

At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. Matthew 26:47-56

He was a troublemaker. He challenged the best thinkers, the governmental leaders, the whole system of human interactions. He claimed no wisdom of his own yet he made the wisest of the wise look foolish. He became a scapegoat for all that was wrong in the changing world in which he lived. He was arrested and tried for causing social unrest, for filling the young with wild ideas, for corrupting his culture. Living four hundred years before Jesus, Socrates died by drinking poison, covering his face as the poison slowly put him to sleep.

Jesus, on the other hand, was lynched.

The religious leaders paid an informant, gathered a posse, stirred up their hatred, and then led them in the night to where Jesus was praying. A sign of friendship and mutuality, a kiss, became a betrayal of the worst kind. The crowd took him, mistreated him, and delivered him to those with the power to see to his death.

One feeble attempt to protect Jesus failed miserably. A slave lost an ear. Perhaps a symbol of the inability to hear the message of Jesus? Matthew doesn’t tell us much. Unlike Luke, Jesus doesn’t reattach the ear. Unlike Matthew, Luke says nothing about the scriptures being fulfilled. From the beginning, followers of Jesus have wrestled with this sudden and tragic turn in the story.

Jesus was lynched. But that was yet to come.

For now, Jesus made it clear both to his captors and to his followers that he would not fight against anyone. He said “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” Add this to the list of most often ignored words of Jesus throughout history!

I remember the time when a “gun rights” guy told me that Jesus expected his followers to be armed, that is why his disciple had a sword. I suggested that the sword (knife?) might have been a common tool for everyone, a kitchen accessory, especially for fishermen. That Jesus very explicitly denounces violence as an appropriate response to the world. I think I heard him very well. I don’t think he heard me at all.

The crowd now has Jesus where the religious leaders want him. They don’t know Jesus but they sure know those leaders. They must have figured that they might give them a better deal. As the crowd pushes Jesus into town, the disciples all flee into the night.

Let us pray: Dear Lord, as often as we have heard it, this turn in the story will always hit us between the eyes. The betrayal, the arrest, the shouts of the crowd, the glitter of swords and clubs. Don’t let us turn our heads away from this. Don’t let us stand outside of this story. For we, like all people, live in the tension of trusting you or trusting swords, of following you or fleeing into the safety of the night. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.”

And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.”

Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again he went away for the second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words.

Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.” Matthew 26:36-46

The disciples did the best they could do. It wasn’t very good. They fell asleep. Their bluster faded to black. Without realizing it, they were already slipping toward deserting Jesus.

There is an old hymn often sung during Lent, “Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?” Symbolism and metaphor aside, whether he must or not isn’t the point. Jesus did bear the cross alone. He wasn’t the only one crucified that day, nor was that the only day such heinous things happened, but Jesus was tragically, obviously, sadly, alone. His friends deserted him. But first they fell asleep.

Several times Jesus tells his disciples to stay awake. Each time they fall asleep. They just can’t seem to stay “woke.” An interesting word there. “Woke.” In our day it has taken on a whole new meaning. To be “woke” means that your eyes have been opened. You have come to a new degree of awareness and consciousness of the reality of life for all who suffer under the cultural pressures of divisions like racism and sexism.

It is tough to stay “woke.” It is as tough as it is to swim against the raging current of a river or to run uphill. If, like me, you find yourself among the privileged (I am a tall, white, heterosexual, incredibly handsome male…OK so I embellished that a bit), staying “woke” feels optional. At any point, I can just quit swimming or running. I’ll feel relieved. People around me, people who share privileged positions, will feel relieved. No more pressure. No more pointing out the obvious. No more pushing against comfort zones. We all fall asleep again.

Jesus stayed “woke”. He was driven, not by culture or tradition or self preservation, but by a steadfast devotion to living the will of God. Even if that took him to a place of utter forsakenness, abandoned by all. Even God.

Following him means following him. Again he calls us to stay “woke”, even as our eyelids grow heavy.

Let us pray: Dear Lord, when the way is hard and the path unclear, give us the trust that you are carrying us toward where you want us to be. Give encouragement and strength to those with the courage to stand against all that stands against your love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Then Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.”

Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And so said all the disciples. Matthew 26:31-35

“And so said all the disciples” – and then they all deserted him anyway. But we’re not there yet. We know what eventually happens. We know the end of the story. But Matthew hasn’t taken us there yet. For now, we accept the words of the earnest disciples at face value. They promise to stay with Jesus.

It is hard to read the gospel stories with fresh eyes, to hear the Jesus story as if for the first time. But isn’t this how they are intended to be heard? Not to be scoured for every textual tidbit but to elicit a reaction, to move people, to “do Jesus” to people? But if we could go back to the first time we ever heard this story we would be right there with the disciples.

They have followed Jesus, thus far, through thick and thin. They too have been criticized and challenged. They have had their own hardships along the way. Their own disappointments. They left everything behind when they got up to follow Jesus. They too have made sacrifices. Yet they are still with him.

If we heard this story for the first time we would admire the disciples for their courage, their commitment, their dedication. And we would completely miss the deeper point – they were following Jesus because they hoped to get something out of him. They were following Jesus like a celebrity posse. Just being close to greatness made them feel just a little greater. And just imagine how great it will be when he sets up shop, raises his army, builds his palace, and rules the world!

But that night at dinner they weren’t thinking about any of that. They were just nervous about being in Jerusalem. But don’t worry Jesus, we’re right there with you.

I hate to admit this but there is little doubt that my own discipleship, such as it has been, has been largely self-serving. When I came to a new place in my faith back in college, I have no doubt there was a part of me that wanted my life to be better, and that getting back into God’s good graces was my ticket to insider status, VIP treatment, and earthly success. In far too many ways, I have probably been chasing something like that my entire life. In that, I’m not alone.

No, the disciples would prove not to be super heroes. They would prove to be, just like us, cracked pots of human foibles, failures, and follies. But Jesus saw something in them that they couldn’t yet see in themselves – the glory of God that sparks within every human being and all creation. Like a sculptor looking at a pile of scrap iron and thinking “I can do something with this” the good news is that, while the disciples couldn’t keep their promise, Jesus kept his.

Let us pray: Dear Lord, in our following we often wander, we falter, we drop into the ditch. Remind us again and again that it isn’t always about us or up to us – that while we struggle in our following, you are constantly pulling us along. In Jesus’ name. Amen.