Lent Booklet 2014 by Calvary Baptist Church

Speaking of Sin Daily Readings for the Season of Lent Calvary Baptist Church Washington, DC

2014

755 Eighth Street N.W. ·∙ Washington, DC 20001 ·∙ 202.347.8355 www.calvarydc.org

March 2014 Dear Friends, Throughout more than two millennia of Christianity, great writers have been drawn to the subjects of sin and Lent. In some ways they are two sides of the same coin, as our propensity to sin requires our constant re-‐examination of self and repentance. This Lenten season, we wanted to offer you some of the best of the meditations on these ƚŽƉŝĐƐ ƐŽ ĐƌŝƚŝĐĂů ƚŽ ŽƵƌ ĨĂŝƚŚ͕ ĂŶĚ ƐŽ ŝŵƉŽƌƚĂŶƚ ƚŽ ƵƐ ĂƐ ͞ ĂƐƚĞƌ WĞŽƉůĞ͘͟ The words are not mine, nor those of our church family, but should seem important and familiar to all of us. These thoughts have been collected from the Internet and other sources. We encourage you in every case to read more about the authors and look for more of their thoughts. Our intention was to provide sample writings as an introduction to their work. Jac Whatley

755 Eighth Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001 y 202.347.8355 y www.calvarydc.org

March 5 Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is my favorite day of the church year and Lent is my favorite season. Our culture has quite ruined Christmas and Easter with Santa and the Easter bunny and all the grotesque consumerism and made for TV specials behind all of it. But oddly nobody waits every year to watch the Ash Wednesday Peanuts Special. There are no Doorbuster sales at 4am on the first day of Lent. There are no big garish displays in the middle of Cherry Creek Mall with mechanical children in sack cloth and ashes. Nope. We get this one all to ourselves. Our culture has no idea what to do with a day that celebrates the fact that we all sin and are going to die. But sin is strangely enough one of my favorite things to talk about. I sometimes ŐƌĞĞƚ ŵǇ ĨƌŝĞŶĚƐ ďǇ ƐĂǇŝŶŐ ͞ŚĞůůŽ ƐŝŶŶĞƌ.͟ /ƚ͛Ɛ Ă ƚĞƌŵ ŽĨ ĚĞĞƉ ĂĨĨĞĐƚŝŽŶ͘ I reclaim the word sinner.

Nadia Bolz Webber

March 6 Marked by Ashes Ruler of the Night, Guarantor of the day . . . This dayͶa gift from you. This dayͶlike none other you have ever given, or we have ever received. This Wednesday dazzles us with gift and newness and possibility. This Wednesday burdens us with the tasks of the day, for we are already halfway home, halfway back to committees and memos, halfway back to calls and appointments, halfway on to next Sunday, halfway back, half frazzled, half expectant, half turned toward you, half rather not.

This Wednesday is a long way from Ash Wednesday, but all our Wednesdays are marked by ashes Ͷ we begin this day with that taste of ash in our mouth: of failed hope and broken promises, of forgotten children and frightened women, we ourselves are ashes to ashes, dust to dust; we can taste our mortality as we roll the ash around on our tongues. 2

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Lenten Devotional 2014

We are able to ponder our ashness with some confidence, only because our every Wednesday of ashes anticipates your Easter victory over that dry, flaky taste of death.

On this Wednesday, we submit our ashen way to you Ͷ you Easter parade of newness. Before the sun sets, take our Wednesday and Easter us, Easter us to joy and energy and courage and freedom; Easter us that we may be fearless for your truth. Come here and Easter our Wednesday with mercy and justice and peace and generosity.

We pray as we wait for the Risen One who comes soon.

Walter Bruggeman

March 7 Lent is not a few weeks of pointless doom and gloom; it is a 40-‐day retreat where sinners can find peace in the penitential practices and heal our wounds. After Lent we are recharged members of the Church Militant and are spiritually prepared to storm the world, the trumpets of Easter resounding in our hearts. Alleluia! He is risen!

But I am getting ahead of myself. The main focus of Lent should be so much more than giving up a few vices, like chocolate and alcohol; it's a time of interior examination of our sinful natures. This ongoing reflection helps us to recognize where in our lives we need to make changes, and impels us to rely on the Lord to get them made. We should turn from sin all year long, but the Lenten season is the one specifically designed for fasting and weeping.

There is a growing rejection of sin in modern society. Few think they sin at all or believe that sin will directly offend God and severe our relationship with Him. "Sin" has been reduced to "problems" that can be fixed by medical professionals, psychologists and counselors.

If sin has disappeared, then with it has disappeared forgiveness; if there is no sin then what need do we have of being forgiven? Don't worry, be happy?

God wants a relationship with us; he seeks us out and wants us to seek him in return. But God is all Truth. How do we approach him while Lenten Devotional 2014

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lying to ourselves about what sin is and whether we even commit sins?

To find him we must acknowledge that we sin and embrace the resulting guilt born of sin, because the truth is we are guilty.

Lent is a beautiful mortification that thrusts us toward the waiting God and His grace. It is a beautiful, spiritually raw time when we meet his truth with our truth: we are nothing but sinful beings in dire need of His redemption and healing.

Katrina Fernandez, www.patheos.com

March 8 A Future Not Our Own It helps now and then to step back and take a long view. The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us. No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection, no pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church's mission. No set of goals and objectives include everything.

This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water the seeds already planted knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing this. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's 4

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Lenten Devotional 2014

grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own. From Xavarian Missionaries in memory of Oscar Romero

March 9

First Sunday in Lent Genesis 2:15-‐17; 3:1-‐7 Psalm 32 Romans 5:12-‐19 Matthew 4:1-‐11

March 10 Let Your God Love You Be silent. Be still. Alone. Empty Before your God. Say nothing. Ask nothing. Be silent. Be still. Let your God look upon you. That is all. God knows.

God understands. God loves you With an enormous love, And only wants To look upon you With that love. Quiet. Still. Be. Let your GodͶ Love you

Edwina Gateley, www.edwinagateley.com

March 11 We have begun the season of Lent. Our model during Lent is Jesus in the desert overcoming temptation. We make many sacrifices and acts of self-‐denial during Lent and we fast. We want to pray more during Lenten Devotional 2014

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Lent and donate from our surplus to help the poor. All of these things that we do during Lent are an expression of something inside ourselves that we want to do during Lent, give up sin by overcoming temptation. In other words, what we really want to give up during Lent is sin! We want to give up sin because it destroys us and only drags us down and hurts our relationship with each other and God. We want to give up sin during Lent because we do not want to be tricked and deceived and lied to by temptation any more. We want to give up sin during Lent because temptations conceal from us the true road to wholeness and integrity giving us instead the illusion of a quick and easy way to find what is really good and worthwhile in life. We want to give up sin during Lent because temptations are sneaky, offering us what appears to be a quick-‐fix, but is in reality a quick-‐ disaster. We want to give up sin during Lent because we know that following a temptation into sin is irrational and has no sense. Therefore we want to be particularly attentive when our brain power is lowered e.g. by alcohol or when we are tired or under stress.

Above all we want to give up sin during Lent because we love Jesus and when we give in to temptation and sin we hurt Jesus. Every time we sin we are the soldiers scourging Jesus at the pillar during his Passion. Every time we sin we are giving a slap to Jesus. Every time we sin we put a crown of thorns on Jesus. Every time we sin we are the soldiers driving nails into his hands to crucify him. We love Jesus and do not want to hurt him anymore than we have already done. This is why we want to give up sin. Jesus in the desert overcame temptation. Because we love Jesus we too want to overcome temptation and sin during the desert of Lent. By dying to sin during Lent may we rise to new life with Jesus at Easter.

Father Tommy Lane, www.frtommylane.com

March 12 Sara Miles and friend carried their Ash Wednesday blessing to the streets: McDonalds was crowded with teenagers and fry cooks and families buying cheap fast food, and people reached out to us eagerly, pulling us over. A Guatemalan woman unwrapped her tiny baby, who she told me was a week and a half old, and held him up. I crossed his forehead 6

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Lenten Devotional 2014

with ashes, and took a deep breath, and told the baby he was going to die. And then his mother, like every single person who leaned forward to receive that day, said the same words: thank you.

Why would you say thank you when a stranger tells you that your child is going to die? Because it's the truth. People say thank you to that hard blessing because finally, despite all the lies of our culture, it means nothing is hidden, or pretend, or made-‐up anymore.

The truth is that we all go down to the dust. And that we are loved: to the end, and beyond. We're not alone in life or in death. And when the face of God's truth is revealed in Christ Jesus, with all its terrible suffering and beauty, you can only say what our neighbors said on Ash Wednesday: Thank you.

Sara Miles

March 13 Yesterday at church, our pastor offered some advice at the end of the service that, I thought, hit the nail on the head. "Don't focus on giving up something for the sake of giving something up," he said. "Instead, try to add something good to your life, and only give up what's necessary to add that something good." Then he suggested reading through all four gospels during LentͶwhich would involve giving up, say, a few sitcoms, or some internet surfing time, or some morning news programs (which are, have you noticed, unbelievably repetitive anyway?).

That advice silenced my inner cynic. And it helped me seize on two things I want to add to my life during Lent. Yes, I want to reread the four gospels, from beginning to end, as our pastor suggested. Not for a lecture or a book, but simply for my own inner nourishment and challenge.

I'm sure I'll have to subtract some things during Lent in order to make time and space for these things I want to add. But it's the adding, not the subtracting, that's the point.

Brian McLaren Lenten Devotional 2014

Calvary Baptist Church

March 14 For the sin of silence, For the sin of indifference, For the secret complicity of the neutral, For the closing of borders, For the washing of hands, For the crime of indifference, For the sin of silence, For the closing of borders. For all that was done, For all that was not done, Let there be no forgetfulness before the Throne of Glory; Let there be remembrance within the human heart; And let there at last be forgiveness When your children, O God, Are free and at peace.

Chaim Stern

March 15 Lent awakens spiritual hope in us, just as the sight of the enemy awakes the spirit of an army. They were lagging just now, tired with the march, dispirited; but a sudden signal, one turn in the road, shows them the enemy's lines stretching right across their way. How the men's hearts leap up: who is fagged now? So Lent awakes the energy of hope by showing us our enemy, the reality of the battle of life, of our conflict with evil. We all know that our fifty or seventy years in this world were given to us for a great achievement-‐-‐to conquer the world, the flesh, and the devil, to win holiness for eternity; but we easily forget this, and slip out of range. But Lent rallies us, reminds us of the seriousness of our moral life, of the reality of sin, of bad tendencies of our childhood not conquered yet, of the strength of sins of the flesh, of pride and temper, of love of the world, of cowardice in confessing Christ, of sloth and depression, of neglect of prayer and the sacraments. As we look up, Lent shows us the way to God and our heavenly country, and right across that way, cutting off our road to God and holiness, lies our sin. So Lent brings us to face the enemy and 8

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prepare for battle. And hope is the very soul of a battle: the men intend to win that position now held by the enemy at any cost. So in your case, suppose there is sloth, or unbelief, or ill will, or some other vice: your Lent battle means your hope to wrest that position from the enemy. That sin, that indifference, or bad temper, shall be conquered by God's help. There is no evading the issue; that sin is going to conquer me, and separate me from God forever, or I am going to conquer it. Lent means nothing if it does not imply in each of us a very definite resolution to deal with our besetting sin. But if that resolution of facing the particular evil that holds us back is made, then Lent will not prove for us a mere mediaeval ceremony gone through. No; in two months͛ time we shall be in the middle of April. Will that be nothing? merely two arbitrary divisions of time passed through? Ah! this world will have come to a new life in that short time; the blossom will be on the pear tree then; every field will be aflush with tender green, every willow bush will have its flower. So the honest effort to repent more deeply, to conquer our chief sin by a good Lent, brings us to our spiritual Easter, a new spring of the soul. And we shall see the change; we shall not be coming to one more ceremony in our Easter Communion: we shall welcome and receive Christ risen from the dead, in His power and beauty, putting forth all the energies of His victory in our changed hearts, our self-‐conquest, our humility.

The journey of a good Lent is a way of hope from beginning to end, and of advance in the spiritual life. The way which has no hope is the way in which we are satisfied to go on just as we are, with no spiritual desire, caring nothing for the love of God, nor for sin that separates us from Him, with no effort to arise and go to our Father Christ. But the least effort to keep Lent means a spiritual movement in the soul towards God, an interior working of the Holy Spirit in the soul. A schoolboy, suppose, makes a resolution on Ash Wednesday to fight some sin, some cowardice, laziness, untruthfulness, impurity, for the love of Christ: here is already an energy of the new life, a fresh springing of grace in the lad. It is not good merely because it might possibly lead to a noble change and a loftier life some future day, it might lead some time or other to his becoming spiritually alive: it means much more than that, it means that by the grace of God he is spiritually alive already, and that the kingdom of heaven begins to grow in him.

Father George Congreve

Lenten Devotional 2014

Calvary Baptist Church

March 16

Second Sunday in Lent Genesis 12:1-‐4a Psalm 121 Romans 4:1-‐5;13-‐17 John 3:1-‐17

March 17 For me, Lent is always a little exercise in failure.

KŶůǇ Ă ǁĞĞŬ ŝŶ͕ ĂŶĚ ƚŚŝƐ ǇĞĂƌ /͛ǀĞ ĂůƌĞĂĚǇ ŵŝƐƐĞĚ Ă ĚĂǇ Žƌ ƚǁŽ ŽĨ ŵǇ intended Lenten practice. Exasperated about my recent failure, I began to wonder if, perhaps, this annual experience of falling short is exactly as it should be.

Maybe the real work of Lent is not succeeding with flying colors at whatever Lenten habit you decide to take on, but instead gaining a concentrated experience of personal failure covered with an ĂƐƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŽĨ 'ŽĚ͛Ɛ ĨŽƌŐŝǀĞŶĞƐƐ ĂŶĚ ůŽǀĞ͘

Perhaps the season of Lent is like a life laboratory, a close-‐up experience of intending to live life one way and falling short -‐-‐ a time when we can experience failure and forgiveness in small ways and maybe even remember that the grace we experience in the small things is there for the big ones, too.

After all, every one of us experiences failure in life -‐-‐ even those of us who seem especially holy. Often those failures are more serious than giving in and raiding the candy jar.

In this awareness, I am living Lent this year as a small-‐scale reminder ƚŚĂƚ 'ŽĚ͛Ɛ ĨŽƌŐŝǀĞŶĞƐƐ ĂŶĚ ŐƌĂĐĞ ĂƌĞ ŽĨĨĞƌĞĚ ĨƌĞĞůǇ ŝŶ Ăůů ƚŚĞ ŵĂŶǇ ways I fail, big or small.

So, perhaps this year, rather than living a totally pure and chocolate-‐ ůĞƐƐ >ĞŶƚ͕ ƚŚĞ ƌĞĂů ǁŽƌŬ ĨŽƌ ƵƐ Ăůů ŝƐ ƌĞŵĞŵďĞƌŝŶŐ 'ŽĚ͛Ɛ ŐƌĂĐĞ ĂŶĚ forgiveness for the whole of life, even, and most especially, in the big failures for which we can never seem to forgive ourselves.

dŚŝƐ >ĞŶƚ / Ăŵ ŐŽŝŶŐ ƚŽ ƚƌǇ ƚŽ ƌĞŵĞŵďĞƌ ƚŚĂƚ͘ /Ĩ / ĨĂŝů͕ ǁĞůů͙͘

Amy Butler

Calvary Baptist Church

Lenten Devotional 2014

March 18 The great religious faith traditions ask their followers, at some point during the year, to step-‐out of their daily routines and orient themselves toward something greater. To demonstrate that they mean it and are 100% committed to the exercise, these followers are asked to sacrifice somethingͶin other words, to give up something they value, like a cow, or money, or food. The act of having given up something serves as a prod of sorts, a powerful reminder (lest one ƐůĂĐŬ ŽĨĨͿ ƚŽ ƌĞĨůĞĐƚ ŽŶ ŽŶĞ͛Ɛ ƌĞůĂƚŝŽŶƐŚŝƉ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ĚŝǀŝŶĞ͘ This giving-‐ up takes place in community so that one gets swept up in a great shift of life-‐as-‐usual. The new normal is a common life focused on God. Whether one is taking part in the one-‐day fast of Yom Kippur or the month-‐long fast of Ramadan or the surrendering of something of ŽŶĞ͛Ɛ Đhoosing for the forty days of Lent, the giving-‐up has a definite time-‐table with well-‐advertised and ritually-‐marked start and end dates.

Ƶƚ ǁŚĂƚ ĂďŽƵƚ ƚŚŽƐĞ ǁŚŽ ĂƌĞŶ͛ƚ ĨŽůůŽǁĞƌƐ ŽĨ ƐƵĐŚ ƚƌĂĚŝƚŝŽŶƐ ďƵƚ ǁĂŶƚ to engage in a similar kind of spiritual exercise (exercise in the sense of an intentional and disciplined activity)? Yow! dŚĂƚ͛Ɛ ŚĂƌĚĞƌ͘ After all, ǇŽƵ͛ůů ŐŝǀĞ ƵƉ ƐŽŵĞƚŚŝŶŐ ǁŝƚŚŽƵƚ ĂŶǇ ŬŝŶĚ ŽĨ ĐŽŵŵƵŶĂů Žƌ ƌŝƚƵĂů ŚĞůƉ͘ dŚĂƚ͛Ɛ ůŝŬĞ ĚĞĐŝĚŝŶŐ ƚŽ ŐŝǀĞ ƵƉ ĐŝŐĂƌĞƚƚĞƐ ǁŝƚŚŽƵƚ Ă ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ ŐƌŽƵƉ ĂŶĚ without nicotine patches. Still, for those who are up to the challenge, it could be even more rewarding.

^Ž ůĞƚ͛Ɛ ĚĂƌĞ ƚŽ ŐŝǀĞ ƵƉ ƐŽŵĞƚŚŝŶŐ ĨŽƌ >ĞŶƚ͘ How about Me-‐Centrism? Give up Me-‐Centrism until April 12, and orient yourself toward God. The phenomenologist and ethicist, Emmanuel Levinas, taught that we might, in the act of treating others as human beings instead of objects, discover a passageway to the extraordinary, the infinite, the transcendent. No promises though. ,ŽƉĞĨƵůůǇ͕ ĞǀĞŶ ŝĨ ǇŽƵ ĚŽŶ͛ƚ ĨŝŶĚ that passageway, the gift of a simple human interaction is gift enough. And should the checkout clerk or the passenger on the bus respond to your friendly gaze by looking Ăƚ ǇŽƵ ůŝŬĞ ǇŽƵ͛ƌĞ ĐƌĂǌǇ͕ Žƌ ůŽŽŬŝŶŐ ƉĂƐƚ ǇŽƵ ůŝŬĞ ǇŽƵ ĚŽŶ͛ƚ ĞǆŝƐƚͶǁĞůů͕ ǇŽƵ͛ůů ŬŶŽǁ ǇŽƵ Ěŝd your part. And no one can ask more than that.

Annette Aronowicz

Lenten Devotional 2014

Calvary Baptist Church

March 19 Church is actually a place for people to experience we. You can ĞǆƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ ǁĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĂƚ ĨĂƐĐŝƐƚ ĂƐƐĞŵďůǇ ǁĂǇ ŝŶ ǁŚŝĐŚ ǁĞ͛ƌĞ Ăůů ƐƚĂŶĚŝŶŐ and reciting prayers in unison and blaming the Jews for everything that went wrong. But there are other ways of experiencing we that actually come from looking at the traditions, participating in them. And fighting against the individual consumer model of everythingͶ actually submitting to being part of a body, and focusing your life together on work. Real work, as opposed to simply replicating church.

/ ũƵƐƚ ƚŚŝŶŬ ƚŚĂƚ͛Ɛ ƚŚĞ Őreatest thing. I need to be knocked around in ƚŚĞ ŐƌĞĂƚ ƌŽĐŬ ƚƵŵďůĞƌ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĐŚƵƌĐŚ ǁŝƚŚ ƉĞŽƉůĞ / ĚŝĚŶ͛ƚ ĐŚŽŽƐĞͶ ďĞĐĂƵƐĞ ůĞĨƚ ƚŽ ŵǇ ŽǁŶ ĚĞǀŝĐĞƐ /͛ŵ ŐŽŶŶĂ ĐŚŽŽƐĞ ƉĞŽƉůĞ ůŝŬĞ ŵĞ͘ ŶĚ that is not how Christianity works. Christianity puts you together with all hƵŵĂŶŝƚǇ͘ /ƚ͛Ɛ ŶŽƚ ĂďŽƵƚ ǇŽƵƌ ĐŚŽŝĐĞ͘ /ƚ͛Ɛ ĂďŽƵƚ ͞ƚŚŝƐ ƉĞƌƐŽŶ ŝƐ ƉĂƌƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ďŽĚǇ ƚŽŽ͕͟ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĂƚ / ĐĂŶ͛ƚ ĂĐƚƵĂůůǇ ƵŶĚĞƌƐƚĂŶĚ ŵǇƐĞůĨ ǁŝƚŚŽƵƚ understanding my relationship to you.

ŐĂŝŶ͕ ŝƚ͛Ɛ Ă ƌĞůŝŐŝŽŶ ŽĨ ƌĞůĂƚŝŽŶƐŚŝƉ͘ ŶĚ ǇŽƵ ĚŽŶ͛ƚ ŐĞƚ ƚŽ ƉŝĐŬ ǁŚĂƚ ƚŚĞ edges of that are.

Sara Miles

March 20 / ǁĂŶƚ ƚŽ ĚŽ ǁŚĂƚ͛Ɛ ƌŝŐŚƚ ĂŶĚ / ǁĂŶƚ ƚŽ ďĞůŝĞǀĞ ǁŚĂƚ͛Ɛ ƚƌƵĞ ĂŶĚ / ǁĂŶƚ ƚŽ ĂǀŽŝĚ ǁŚĂƚ͛Ɛ ǁƌŽŶŐ ĂŶĚ / ǁĂŶƚ ƚŽ ĚŝƐďĞůŝĞǀĞ ǁŚĂƚ͛Ɛ ĨĂůƐĞ͘ Ƶƚ ƚŚĞ issue is all of us are engaged in processes of interpretation when it comes to those matters. Some people seem to believe that all of those interpretations are easy and clear, that their church or denomination ŚĂƐ ŶĂŝůĞĚ ƚŚĞŵ ĚŽǁŶ Žƌ ĨŝŐƵƌĞĚ ƚŚĞŵ ŽƵƚ͘ ŶĚ / ũƵƐƚ ĚŽŶ͛ƚ ƚŚŝŶŬ ŝƚ͛Ɛ ƚŚĂƚ ƐŝŵƉůĞ͘ / ƚŚŝŶŬ ǁĞ͛ƌĞ ŝŶ Ă ĐŽŶƐƚĂŶƚ ƐƚƌƵŐŐůĞ ƚŽ understand the truths more deeply and we have to be involved in ongoing, unending repentance where we are willing to say the things that we felt were true maybe were only partially so, so we have more to learn. That to me is part of what being a disciple is. A disciple is a person who turns their heart to Christ and seeks to be led by the spirit of God. Like Jesus ƐĂŝĚ͕ ƚŚĞƌĞ͛Ɛ ĂůǁĂǇƐ ƚƌƵƚŚ ƚŚĂƚ ǁĞ ĐĂŶŶŽƚ ďĞĂƌ ĂŶĚ ƐŽ ǁĞ ŶĞĞĚ ƚŽ remain open to the spirit to keep guiding us into the truth as we can bear it.

Brian McLaren 12

Calvary Baptist Church

Lenten Devotional 2014

March 21 tĞ ũŽƵƌŶĞǇ ǁŝƚŚ :ĞƐƵƐ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚ ƚŚĞ ĚĞƐĞƌƚ ŽĨ >ĞŶƚ ďƵƚ ŝƚ͛Ɛ ĂůŵŽƐƚ ĂƐ though we have to clear through a whole lot of brush to even get to desert. Lent is about hacking through self-‐delusion and false promises. Lent is about looking at our lives in as bright a light as possible, the light of Christ, to illumine that which moth and rust can consume and which thieves can steal. It is during this time of self-‐reflection and sacrificial giving and prayer that we make our way through the over grown and tangled mess of our lives. We trudge through the lies of our death-‐denying culture to seek the simple weighty truth of who we really are.

This is not a season of taking up self-‐denial; ŝƚ͛Ɛ Ă ƐĞĂƐŽŶ ŽĨ relinquishment. We let go of all the pretenses and destructive independence from God. We let go of defending ourselves. We let go of our indulgent self-‐loathing. Like the prodigal son we then begin to see a loving God running with abandon to welcome us home. But we ĐĂŶ͛ƚ ďĞŐŝŶ ƚŽ ƐĞĞ ƚŚŝƐ 'ŽĚ Ƶntil we turn from our arrogance and certainty and cynicism and ambivalence. The Psalmist says that God delights in the truth that is deep in us. dŚĞ ƚƌƵƚŚ͘ 'ŽĚ ĚŽĞƐŶ͛ƚ ĚĞůŝŐŚƚ in the purity of our doctrine or the perfection of our piety. God delights in the truth and wisdom underneath all the overgrowth of despair and false pride. dŚĞƌĞĨŽƌĞ ƚŚĞƌĞ͛Ɛ ŶŽ ƐŚĂŵĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƚƌƵƚŚ ŽĨ who we are; the broken and blessed beloved of God. dŚĞƌĞ͛Ɛ ŶŽ shame in the truth that our lives on earth will all end and that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. /ƚ͛Ɛ ŶŽƚ ĚĞƉƌĞƐƐŝŶŐ͘ tŚĂƚ͛Ɛ ĚĞƉƌĞƐƐŝŶŐ ŝƐ ƚŚĞ ĚĞƐƉĞƌĂƚŝŽŶ ŽĨ ƚƌǇŝŶŐ ƚŽ ƉƌĞƚĞŶĚ ŽƚŚĞƌǁŝƐĞ͘ tŚĂƚ͛Ɛ ĚĞƉƌĞƐƐŝŶŐ ŝƐ ƚŽ ŝŶƐŝƐƚ ƚŚĂƚ / ĐĂŶ ĨƌĞĞ ŵǇƐĞůĨ / ũƵƐƚ ŚĂǀĞŶ͛ƚ managed to pull it off yet. What is so wonderful about Ash Wednesday and Lent is that through being marked with the cross and reminded of our own mortality we are free. We are free to hear the song of our own salvation which tells of Christ who offers life and forgiveness. This song sings of a God who creates clean hearts and renews our spirits.

Nadia Bolz Webber

March 22 The season of Lent began with Ash Wednesday, and many Christians were encouraged to ponder the reality of death, the shortness and fragility of life, and our need to come to ourselves and to God before it Lenten Devotional 2014

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is too late. A smudge of ash on the forehead reminded us, each time ǁĞ ůŽŽŬĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŵŝƌƌŽƌ͕ ŽĨ ďŝŐ ƌĞĂůŝƚŝĞƐ ƚŚĂƚ ŝƚ͛Ɛ ǀĞƌǇ ĞĂƐǇ ƚŽ ŬĞĞƉ Ăƚ bay most of the time.

The ash, for those who received it, has long since been washed away, but hopefully the reflection to which it is bound will continue through LeŶƚ͘ /Ĩ >ĞŶƚ ŵĂƌŬƐ ĂŶ ŝŶƚĞƌƐĞĐƚŝŽŶ ŽĨ ĨĂŝƚŚ͕ ĚĞĂƚŚ͕ ĂŶĚ ƐŝŶ͕ ƚŚĞŶ ŝƚ͛Ɛ Ă good season to think about what I call in my new book The Pluralism YƵĞƐƚŝŽŶ͕ ďĞĐĂƵƐĞ ǁĞ͛ƌĞ Ăůů ŬĞĞŶůǇ ĂǁĂƌĞ ůĂƚĞůǇ ƚŚĂƚ ƌĞůŝŐŝŽŶ ŝƚƐĞůĨ ĐĂŶ become a force for death and an excuse for some of the most terrible ŬŝŶĚƐ ŽĨ ƐŝŶ͘ tŚĞƚŚĞƌ ŝƚ͛Ɛ /ƐůĂŵŝƐƚ ƐƵŝĐŝĚĞ ďŽŵďĞƌƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞƐĞŶƚ Žƌ ŚƌŝƐƚŝĂŶŝƐƚ ĐƌƵƐĂĚĞƌƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƉĂƐƚ͕ ǁŚĞƚŚĞƌ ŝƚ͛Ɛ ŵŝůůŝŽŶƐ ŽĨ :ĞǁŝƐŚ people being exterminated in twentieth-‐century European history or millions of Native Peoples in the history of the Americas, the name of God has been a convenient excuse for people in all religions to kill ƉĞŽƉůĞ ǁŚŽ ĂƌĞ ƌĞůŝŐŝŽƵƐůǇ ͞ŽƚŚĞƌ͘͟

We are all creations of the same Creator. We are all fragile human beings who are someday going to die. And we are all sinners ʹ we have all fallen short of what we could have been, should have been, might have been. Does it befit fragile, mortal, fallible human beings like us, temporarily tattooed with ash on our foreheads, to play gods in passing heartless judgment on the other? Does it befit people with ash on our own faces to refuse to see in the face of the other ʹ including the religiously other, the stranger, and even the enemy ʹ the indelible mark of the image of God? Can we, for a moment during Lent, ƐĞĞ ŶŽƚ ͞ƵƐ͟ ĂŶĚ ͞ŽƚŚĞƌ͕͟ ďƵƚ ŽŶĞ ĂŶŽƚŚĞƌ͍

Brian McLaren

March 23

Third Sunday in Lent Exodus 17:1-‐7 Psalm 95 Romans 5:1-‐11 John 4:5-‐22

Calvary Baptist Church

Lenten Devotional 2014

March 24 During Lent, Christians around the world enter into a time of fasting, beginning on this day with the imposition of the ashes. These ashes symbolize the old Near Eastern practice of mourning in sackcloth and ashes. To some, this may seem an odd tradition for Christians to practice. We have been forgiven, washed of our sins and given the guarantee of the Resurrection.

Yet, this season exists for a reason. Again, sin is not to be understood in a legal sense. Sin is degeneracy. And though in our spirits (our eternal nature) we are made new, yet still we live in the flesh (our corruptible nature). Because of this, we enter Lent as a time of mourning. We memorialize those who went before Christ, who lived in a time before He was raised from the dead, we remember our own lives apart from God, we bewail that we are still yet living this side of the Resurrection.

There is another purpose too, for though we are still in the Flesh, the Spirit is in us and we can grow. We will never attain perfection before we are made whole, but we can work to make ourselves and our world more like the Kingdom of Heaven. One day, Heaven shall be wedded to Earth, and the Kingdom work done in the here and now shall endure. As we fast during Lent, one of the things we do is discipline ourselves. We train ourselves in temperance and charity by fasting and reminding ourselves of our own faults. By God's grace, this work helps to transform our lives for the better, then we might be a blessing unto others. And all along, as we fast, we pray, and God answers.

Kevin (Internet Blogger)

March 25 Recently I found myself far from New York City on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. For the better part of an hour, I sat on one of those fabulous rocky beaches staring at a tidal pool. I had to. We don't have tidal pools on the East Coast. Jelly fish, sharks and "no-‐ see-‐ums," but not tidal pools.

There's beautiful sea life in these pools: starfish, barnacles, sea anemones. There's also a lot of drama -‐ not unlike human drama.

Lenten Devotional 2014

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For example, in the middle of the pool were two tiny crabs having a knock-‐down-‐drag-‐out fight over some raggedy piece of seaweed. Since there were limited treats in this tiny pool, the seaweed was a special find.

After a few more minutes of observing this little pool and thinking how beautifully philosophic it all was, a wave broke over the rocks and poured water into the pool and all over me.

The tide had turned, bringing all nature of gifts.

I looked down in the little pool and sure enough the wave had brought in more seaweed and the crabs had quit fighting.

The minnows had been washed back to sea, finding their way home.

And the hermit crab now had two new friends.

I walked back and sat on the beach and watched as the tide slowly came in, eventually covering the whole area. In the end, what had seemed to be hundreds of separate little tidal pools had been covered and joined in one big sea of life.

Humans are no different. We all get caught up in our own little tidal pools; tidal pools of anger, confusion, or loneliness. But we have to remember, like that long stretch of rocky beach, ours isn't the only tidal pool in town.

No matter where you find yourself, whether angry, lost, or alone, there are others like you out there; others who walk the same path, others who suffer, others who know our pain. We are joined in one big sea of life. Yet when all seems hopeless, when all appears to be gone, remember the tide will turn and life abundant, like the sea, will flood back into our lives.

Susan Sparks

March 26 To Keep a True Lent Is this a Fast, to keep The Larder lean? And clean 16

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Lenten Devotional 2014

From fat of veals and sheep? Is it to quit the dish Of flesh,yet still To fill The platter high with fish? Is it to fast an hour, Kƌ ƌĂŐŐ͛Ě ŐŽ͕ Or show A downcast look and sour? EŽ͗ ͛ƚŝƐ Ă &ĂƐƚ ƚŽ ĚŽůĞ Thy sheaf of wheat And meat Unto the hungry soul. It is to fast from strife And old debate, And hate; To circumcise thy life. To show a heart grief-‐rent; To starve thy sin, Not bin; ŶĚ ƚŚĂƚ͛Ɛ ƚŽ ŬĞĞƉ ƚŚǇ >ĞŶƚ

Robert Herrick

March 27 Before I went to Westboro [Baptist Church], I expected that its members would take every opportunity to remind me [that I was going to hell], not only because I'm gay but also because they now believe that they are the only true Christians left on earth. But in my four days in Kansas, nobody ever asks me about my sexuality. Nobody says a word about my salvation, except for Jon, who at one point generically and somewhat blandly says, 'We have to tell you you're going to hell.'

The closest we come to discussing my faith and my fate is as we're leaving Fred Phelps's office. Steve Drain is walking us back to his house. 'You're searching for something, aren't you?' he says gently. I am, of courseͶthis journey is about finding God, but it's also about finding a churchͶbut I don't respond. He glances at me. 'Well, I really hope you find what you're looking for.' Lenten Devotional 2014

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Steve says this so sweetly that, for as many seconds as it takes for the words to form in my mind, I think, What if they're right? Maybe they're right. Damn! But just as quickly, I know this in my heart: Their god is not my god, and their faith is not my faith, and there can be no middle ground. My logic is unacceptable to them-‐-‐nothing more than the devil's lies-‐-‐just as their logic makes no sense to me. My heart and my head cannot accept a god so cruel as theirs, so cavalier that he would create people just to destroy them. And I cannot believe in a fear-‐based faith. I don't want to be scared into belief. I don't want to be frightened into submission.

The wonderful film You Can Count on Me chronicles a period in the relationship between a sister and a brother, played by Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo, as thy grapple with sibling stuff. It uses no huge set pieces, no big action scenes. Instead it finds its power in small, intimate moments, which collectively offer one of the truest depictions of real life in recent cinema. Linney plays Sammy, the churchy, stable sibling; Ruffalo is Terry, the peripatetic one. At one point, Sammy asks her pastor, Ron, to sit down with them for a talk.

In a rare moment of clarity, Terry answers a question that Ron has posed about whether his life is important andͶby extensionͶabout the nature of his faith. 'I don't know: A lot of what you're saying has a real appeal to me, Ron,' Terry says. 'A lot of the stuff they told us when we were kids... But I don't want to believe something or not believe it because I might feel bad. I want to believe it because I think it's true.'

He could have been speaking for me."

Jeff Chu, from Does Jesus Really Love Me?

March 28 You manifested humility, O Christ, as the way of genuine nobility by emptying Yourself and taking the form of a slave. You did not hear the self-‐praising prayers of the Pharisee, but you received the broken sighs of the publican as a blameless sacrifice. Therefore I cry out to you: 18

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Lenten Devotional 2014

"Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, and save me, O Savior."

Thomas Hopko; thopko@zoominternet.net

March 29 Silence.

Why? Would it hurt God to let me in on what's going on in my life? It only seems fair, since I am, after all, the one who's living it. Perhaps it would be easier if it made some sense to me.

I think these "wilderness" experiences are common to our lives. I don't pretend to understand the reason for them, though I have some ideas. But they are a given: It's a matter of when they come, not if, for anyone who is serious about knowing and serving this God. And the big question is, what do we do when we find ourselves out there, alone, and with no sign of God?

I grew up in Colorado and spent many days wandering the mountains, sometimes without seeing another person or sign of civilization. And I learned some fundamental rules of survival. One is, when I don't know where I am, stop. Don't go anywhere, don't panic, but sit and wait calmly, thinking carefully about the situation. Rushed, panicky actions result in dead people.

The spiritual wilderness is no different. When life is confusing, don't run. Stop. Wait.

As I consider my situation in the mountains, I review what I know about both mountains and myself. Turns out, I know a lot, and often I find myself not as lost as I thought.

As I consider my situation in the wilderness, I review what I know about both God and myself, and I realize that I know quite a lot.

First, God has a long history of letting people wait without his evident presence. Second, God has over the centuries said some important things: that he will never leave us, never forsake us, and more. Third, people through history have written of times in the wilderness as times of deepening and growth. The wilderness can kill us. But it can also focus us and heighten our senses. The choice is ours. We can Lenten Devotional 2014

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panic and run -‐-‐ likely to our death -‐-‐ or we can wait calmly for God's purpose to be complete, when we once again move on, but at a deeper and more intimate level. Fourth, God never really goes away. A fundamental principle of theology is that God is everywhere present. He is there with us, whether we can sense his presence or not. Very important to know.

A cardinal principle then is this: Be calm. Be cool. Wait on God. He's there, and he won't fail.

So, I don't panic. I remain cool. And I let God do his thing with me. Sometimes I don't like it, and sometimes it's difficult. But the alternative is unthinkable. God is faithful, and can be trusted. Even in the wilderness.

Larry Baden

March 30

Fourth Sunday in Lent 1st Samuel 16:1-‐13 Psalm 23 Ephesians 5:8-‐14 John 9:1-‐41

March 31 Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelterͶ when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 20

Calvary Baptist Church

Lenten Devotional 2014

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here I am. Isaiah 58:6ʹ9 (NIV)

April 1 Jesus enjoins his disciples to participate in God's work. Then he takes the bread and give thanks to God, to show them that the bread doesn't belong to them. Like everything we have, he says, bread comes from God, and your job is just to break it up and give it away. Give it to the wrong people, to the ones who haven't washed their hands correctly, to the latecomers and the women, to anyone who's hungry.... We'll stay hungry if we eat alone. We'll be lonely if we think we can only share fellowship with the right people. We'll starve if we believe that a community is a supernatural kind of miracle, or a product we can buy -‐-‐ not something we create by offering ourselves recklessly to others.

On a Soup Kitchen day in Lent (from Sara Miles' book "Jesus Freak")

April 2 No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting it, not by giving in. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later.

That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it.

C.S. Lewis

April 3 The maker of man was made man, That the Ruler of the stars might suck at the breast; Lenten Devotional 2014

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That the Bread might be hungered; The Fountain, thirst; The Light, sleep; The Way, be wearied by the journey; The Truth, be accused by false witnesses; The Judge of the living and the dead, be judged by a mortal judge; The Chastener, be chastised with whips; The Vine, be crowned with thorns; The Foundation, be hung upon a tree; Strength, be made weak; Health, be wounded; Life, die. To suffer these and suchlike things, undeserved things, that He might free the undeserving, for neither did He deserve any evil, who for our sakes endured so many evils, nor were we deserving of anything good, we who through Him received such good.

Augustine, from The Confessions

April 4 Lent 2001 The cosmos dreams in me while I wait in stillness, ready to lean a little further into the heart of the Holy. I, a little blip of life, a wisp of unassuming love, a quickly passing breeze, come once more into Lent. No need to sign me with the black bleeding ash of palms, fried and baked.

I know my humus place. This Lent I will sail on the graced wings of desire, yearning to go deeper to the place where I am one in the One. Oh, may I go there soon, in the same breath that takes me to the stars when the cosmos dreams in me

Joyce Rupp; www.joycerupp.com

Calvary Baptist Church

Lenten Devotional 2014

April 5 I love to talk about sin, which makes little sense to people who want to label me as a liberal. I think perhaps that actual liberals equate admitting we are sinful with having low self-‐esteem. And then the conservatives equate sin with immorality (only sometimes do sin and immorality converge). So one end of the church tells us that sin is an antiquated notion that only makes us feel bad about ourselves so we should avoid mentioning it at all. While the other end of the church tells us that sin is the same as immorality and totally avoidable if you are just a good squeaky clean Christian. But when sin is boiled down to low self-‐esteem and immorality then it becomes something we can control or limit in some way rather than something we are bondage to. The reality is that I cannot free myself from the bondage of self. I cannot keep from being turned in on self. I cannot by my own understanding or effort disentangle myself from my self-‐interest and ǁŚĞŶ / ƚŚŝŶŬ ƚŚĂƚ / ĐĂŶ ͙/ Ăŵ ƚƌǇŝŶŐ ƚŽ ĚŽ ǁŚĂƚ ŝƐ ŽŶůǇ 'ŽĚ͛Ɛ ƚŽ ĚŽ͘

To me, there is actually great hope in admitting my mortality and brokenness because then I finally lay aside my sin management program and allow God to be God for me. Which is all any of us really need when it comes down to it.

Nadia Bolz Webber

April 6

Fifth Sunday in Lent Ezekial 37:1-‐14 Psalm 130 Romans 8:6-‐11 John 11:1-‐45

April 7 When we give God our will fully, little by little he takes the rest, all our faculties, the whole man. The conquest no longer rests with us, but with God; it becomes his affair. As he wishes and when he wishes, eh will take our memory, our senses, our passions, our imagination, intellect, and heart, and he does this by the various states through which we have to pass, and by the trials he sends us. We must co-‐ Lenten Devotional 2014

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operate with him with our will in each of his loving assaults, by letting him take these things, one by one.

Where God is at work, the devil is not idle. When you try over a period to correct yourself on a particular point, do not be surprised if you have to submit to violent temptations on that very point, even to repeated falls. The important thing is never to admit that you are beaten. Fight and never give in, like a good general. The effort, which is part of the battle, even when there is nothing to show for it, plays and enormous part in the formation of the will. We always emerge from the battle stronger.

Dom Augustin Guillerand

April 8 Jesus' story opens up some marvelous possibilities for amazing things to happen. When we consider "life and death" we should not focus solely on the second part of the phrase. One of the primary purposes of getting our death-‐hat on straight is to claim the wonder of life, to make us seize the reins, to join the party, to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and start all over again. We will experience loss and we can live again. We can suffer, and rejoicing can likely follow. We can watch things end and expect new beginnings.

Where we will end up "in glory" can only be imagined, but life on earth is at least a mini-‐waltz with death every day. Knowing about resurrection gives us a signpost to the possibility of the new life that we can claim over and over again.

And Lent, whether you are a dyed-‐in-‐the-‐wool practitioner or not, can be a great time to pay attention, to "go inside" and take a look around, to dance in a different way.

Phil Porter; www.phil@interplay.org

Calvary Baptist Church

Lenten Devotional 2014

April 9 In Praise of Self-‐Deprecation

The buzzard has nothing to fault himself with. Scruples are alien to the black panther. Piranhas do not doubt the rightness of their actions. The rattlesnake approves of himself without reservations.

The self-‐critical jackal does not exist. The locust, alligator, trichina, horsefly live as they live and are glad of it.

The killer whale's heart weighs one hundred kilos but in other respects it is light.

There is nothing more animal-‐like than a clear conscience on the third planet of the Sun.

Wislawa Szymborska, Polish Nobel Prize Winner

April 10 The life of a monk ought always to be a Lenten observance. However, since such virtue is that of few, we advise that during these days of Lent he guard his life with all purity and at the same time wash away during these holy days all the shortcomings of other times. This will then be worthily done, if we restrain ourselves from all vices. Let us devote ourselves to tearful prayers, to reading and compunction of heart, and to abstinence.

During these days, therefore, let us add something to the usual amount of our service, special prayers, abstinence from food and ĚƌŝŶŬ͕ ƚŚĂƚ ĞĂĐŚ ŽŶĞ ŽĨĨĞƌ ƚŽ 'ŽĚ ͞ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ũŽǇ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ,ŽůǇ 'ŚŽƐƚ͟ ;ϭ Thes 1:6), of his own accord, something above his prescribed measure; namely, let him withdraw from his body somewhat of food, drink, sleep, speech, merriment, and with the gladness of spiritual desire await holy Easter.

Let each one, however, make known to his Abbot what he offers and let it be done with his approval and blessing; because what is done without permission of the spiritual father will be imputed to Lenten Devotional 2014

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presumption and vain glory, and not to merit. Therefore, let all be done with the approval of the Abbot.

St. Benedict

April 11 dŚĞ ĂůůĂĚ ŽĨ DĂƌǇ͛Ɛ ^ŽŶ It was in the Spring The Passover had come. There was feasting in the streets and joy. But an awful thing Happened in the Spring Men who knew not what they did <ŝůůĞĚ DĂƌǇ͛Ɛ ŽǇ͘ He was DĂƌǇ͛Ɛ ^ŽŶ͕ And the Son of God was He Sent to bring the whole world joy. There were some who could not hear, And some were filled with fear So they built a cross &Žƌ DĂƌǇ͛Ɛ ŽǇ

Langston Hughes

April 12 With tender look, and voice of thrilling grace, The SAVIOUR once to His disciples said, "Come ye apart into a desert place. And rest awhile the aching heart and head."

He says so still to all who are His own, To all aweary with the world's sad strife, "Come, spend with me a little while alone, Leave the hot fever and the fret of life.

Calvary Baptist Church

Lenten Devotional 2014

"Come from the world's hard struggle and its din, Discords that pain the ear and never cease, Wild stormy passions, tumults of man's sin, Which put to shame the angel's song of peace.

"Come, when perplexed by doubt or anxious fear, And I will make dark things all clear and plain, Will shed the light of hope on dull despair, And give true peace where now is only pain." C. D. Bell

April 13

Sixth Sunday in Lent -‐ Palm Sunday Isaiah 50:1-‐9a Psalm 118:1-‐2;19-‐29 Matthew 21:1-‐11 Philippians 2:5-‐11

April 14 Am I a stone, and not a sheep, That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy cross, To number drop by drop dŚǇ ďůŽŽĚ͛Ɛ ƐůŽǁ ůŽƐƐ͕ And yet not weep? Not so those women loved Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee; Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly; Not so the thief was moved; Not so the Sun and Moon Which hid their faces in a starless sky, A horror of great darkness at broad noon I, only I. zĞƚ ŐŝǀĞ ŶŽƚ Ž͛Ğƌ͕ But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock; Greater than Moses, turn and look once more And smite a rock.

Christina Rossetti

Lenten Devotional 2014

Calvary Baptist Church

April 15 Lent is a privileged liturgical season for reflecting upon our human nature: the fragile and vulnerable nature of human existence and, especially, upon the experience of evil (and good) in which we live and develop throughout our historical existence, both personally and in community. We refer to the experience of evil that is lived, evidenced and manifested in conflicts (whether personal, family, social, national, international, natural disasters, etc.) and which, in our Christian ƚŚĞŽůŽŐǇ ĂŶĚ ǁŽƌůĚǀŝĞǁ͕ ǁĞ ŬŶŽǁ ĂƐ ͞ƐŝŶ͕͟ ĂƐ ĐŽŶƚƌĂƐƚĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ŽƚŚĞƌ worldviews and theological systems in which evil is called fault, guilt, stain and taboo.

If the objective of the disciple, of the son, is to become like the Son (Eph 5.1) and, through Christ, be with Him and in Him, in his ƵŶĚĞƌƐƚĂŶĚŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ͕ ƚŽ ďĞ ŵĂĚĞ ŝŶ ͞ƚŚĞ ŝŵĂŐĞ ĂŶĚ ůŝŬĞŶĞƐƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ &ĂƚŚĞƌ͕͟ ƚŚĞŶ >ĞŶƚ ƌĞŵŝŶĚƐ ƵƐ ĂůƐŽ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŶĞĞĚ ƚŽ ůŝǀĞ ŝŶ Ă permanent state of conversion, of a change of life, of transforming our ůŝĨĞ ƚŽ ďĞ ůŝŬĞ ŚƌŝƐƚ͛Ɛ ůŝĨĞ͕ ĂƐ ǁĞůů ĂƐ ŽƵƌ ƉƌŝŶĐŝƉůĞƐ͕ ĐƌŝƚĞƌŝĂ ĂŶĚ attitudes like the criteria of the Gospel. The logic of the world must ďĞĐŽŵĞ 'ŽĚ͛Ɛ ůŽŐŝĐ͕ Žƌ ƚŚĞ ǁŝƐĚŽŵ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĐƌŽƐƐ͕ ƵŶƚŝů ǁĞ ĐĂŶ ĞǆĐůĂŝŵ witŚ WĂƵů ͞ǁŚĞƌĞ ƐŝŶ ĂďŽƵŶĚĞĚ͕ ŐƌĂĐĞ ĂďŽƵŶĚĞĚ ĞǀĞŶ ŵŽƌĞ͟ ;Zŵ ϱ͘ϮϬͿ͕ ͞/ ŶŽ ůŽŶŐ ůŝǀĞ͕ ďƵƚ ŚƌŝƐƚ ůŝǀĞƐ ŝŶ ŵĞ͘͟ ;'Ăů Ϯ͘ϮϬͿ͘ ŽŶǀĞƌƐŝŽŶ͕ especially during the Lenten season, is equated in the liturgy with the Transfiguration (Mt 17.1-‐9), since to be converted is to be worthy to hear Ͷas Jesus didͶ ƚŚĞ ǀŽŝĐĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ &ĂƚŚĞƌ ƚŚĂƚ ƚĞůůƐ ƵƐ͗ ͞ƚŚŝƐ ŝƐ ŵǇ ^ŽŶ͕ ƚŚĞ ďĞůŽǀĞĚ͕ ůŝƐƚĞŶ ƚŽ Śŝŵ͘͟

Lent, therefore, reminds us of our sin, our need for conversion, but ĂďŽǀĞ Ăůů͕ ŝƚ ƌĞŵŝŶĚƐ ƵƐ ŽĨ ŽƵƌ ŶĞĞĚ ƚŽ ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ &ĂƚŚĞƌ͛Ɛ Śouse where there awaits for us the compassionate and merciful embrace of the Father who does not deal with us as daily workers or as servants, but as his children (Lk 15). Thus, Lent is also a season for joyful confidence, for gratitude, for humble hope in 'ŽĚ͛Ɛ ĐŽŵƉĂƐƐŝŽŶĂƚĞ love. Conversion and joy, are clearly part of the entire life of the ĚŝƐĐŝƉůĞ͕ ŝŶǀŽůǀŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŚƌŝƐƚŝĂŶ͛Ɛ ĞŶƚŝƌĞ ŽďũĞĐƚŝǀĞ͘

Mario Paredes; mariojparedesen.blogspot.com

Calvary Baptist Church

Lenten Devotional 2014

April 16 A Hymn to God the Father

Wilt Thou forgive that sin where I begun, Which is my sin, though it were done before?

Wilt Thou forgive that sin, through which I run, And do run still, though still I do deplore? When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done, For I have more.

Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I have won Others to sin? and, made my sin their door? Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I did shun A year or two: but wallowed in, a score? When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done, For I have more.

I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun My last thread, I shall perish on the shore; Swear by Thyself, that at my death Thy Son Shall shine as He shines now, and heretofore; And, having done that, Thou hast done I fear no more. John Donne

April 17 The Glory of These Forty Days The glory of these forty days We celebrate with songs of praise; For Christ, by Whom all things were made, Himself has fasted and has prayed.

Alone and fasting Moses saw The loving God Who gave the law; And to Elijah, fasting, came The steeds and chariots of flame.

So Daniel trained his mystic sight, ĞůŝǀĞƌĞĚ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ůŝŽŶƐ͛ ŵŝŐŚƚ͖ ŶĚ :ŽŚŶ͕ ƚŚĞ ƌŝĚĞŐƌŽŽŵ͛Ɛ ĨƌŝĞŶĚ͕ ďĞĐĂŵĞ dŚĞ ŚĞƌĂůĚ ŽĨ DĞƐƐŝĂŚ͛Ɛ EĂŵĞ͘ Lenten Devotional 2014

Calvary Baptist Church

Then grant us, Lord, like them to be Full oft in fast and prayer with Thee; Our spirits strengthen with Thy grace, And give us joy to see Thy face.

O Father, Son, and Spirit blest, To thee be every prayer addressed, Who art in threefold Name adored, From age to age, the only Lord.

Pope Gregory I (540-‐604 A.D.)

April 18 Let nothing disturb thee; Let nothing dismay thee: All thing pass; God never changes. Patience attains All that it strives for. He who has God Finds he lacks nothing: God alone suffices.

Teresa of Avila

April 19 O Lord and Master of my life, keep from me the spirit of indifference and discouragement, lust of power and idle chatter. Instead, grant to me, Your servant, the spirit of wholeness of being, humble-‐mindedness, patience, and love. O Lord and King, grant me the grace to be aware of my sins and not to judge my brother; for You are blessed now and ever and forever. Amen.

The Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian

Calvary Baptist Church

Lenten Devotional 2014

Calvary Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Amy Butler, Senior Pastor 755 Eighth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 202.347.8355 www.calvarydc.org