Lenten Devotion for March 7

Revise Our Taking

by Walter Brueggemann

You, you giver!

You have given light and life to the world;

You have given freedom from Pharaoh to your people Israel;

You have given your only Son for the sake of the world;

You have given yourself to us;

You have given and forgiven,

                 and you remember our sins no more. 
And we, in response, are takers:

       We take eagerly what you give us;

       we take from our neighbors near at hand as is acceptable;

       we take from our unseen neighbors greedily and acquisitively;

       we take from our weak neighbors thoughtlessly;

       we take all that we can lay our hands on.

It dawns on us that our taking does not match your giving.

In this Lenten season revise our taking,

               that it may be grateful and disciplined

              even as you give in ways generous and overwhelming.

Amen.

Lenten Devotion for March 6

Lenten Poem

by Ann Weems

Lent is a time to take time to let the power
of our faith story take hold of us,
a time to let the events get up
and walk around in us,
a time to intensify our living unto Christ,
a time to hover over the thoughts of our hearts,
a time to place our feet in the streets of
Jerusalem or to talk along the see and
listen to his Word,
a time to touch his robe
and feel the healing surge through us,
a time to ponder and a time to wonder….
Lent is a time to allow
a fresh new taste of God!
Perhaps we’re afraid to have time to think,
for thoughts come unbidden.
Perhaps we’re afraid to face our future
knowing our past.
Give us courage, O God,
to hear your Word
and to read our living into it.
Give us the trust to know we’re forgiven
and give us the faith
to take up our lives and walk.

Lenten Devotion for March 5

Perfect Practice
by Melody Harrison Hanson

Practicing Lent
sounds slick.

My gift,
heart-full-of-pride.
My rituals,
my restriction,
my sacrifice.

Then I stretch, throwing
out my arms,
open handed.

Look up,
give up.
Let go,
let up.

Incarnate,
the One who comes
have me.
I let go,
practicing Lent.

Lenten Devotion for March 4

Come and Stay at My House Today
by Joyce Rupp

Jesus, this Lent I am yearning to wear a Zacchaeus heart.
I am wanting to hear you call my name just as you did his.
I am anxious to know that you are inviting yourself to my home.
I am humbled, amazed, excited, and astounded, just as he was.

But that is where the desire to wear a Zacchaeus heart stops,
because I know what happens when you visit someone’s house.
Conversations occur. Choices are presented. Changes happen.
That’s because you look for more than dust when you come to visit
and you talk about things more vital than the weather.
You move into the heart’s dimension. You gaze deeply.
You don’t just dwell. You interact. You activate.
You dwell so lovingly that the truth cannot be resisted.

This Lent help me to welcome you and yearn for your love.
Give me a Zacchaeus heart that turns around and sees the truth.
I need the gaze of your love to remind me of my truest self.
I, too, need the strong call to make amends and start anew.
Hurry, Jesus, come and stay at my house today.

Lenten Devotion for March 3

You Are With Me

by Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Holy One,

Light of my shadows and Way of my wandering,

you are the desert in whom I find myself;

you are the presence in whom, in solitude, I am not alone.

Walk with me into the wilderness of my sin.

Expose what is hidden that I need to see;

receive what is broken, that it may be healed;

forgive what is hurtful,

and bless what returns me to life.

By your grace may I find in my shadows your glorious image,

and in my broken heart your crucified Christ.

For you are my only power, my only security,

and the source of my truest self.

Gracious and Loving One,

I walk through a valley of shadows and death:

you are with me, and I trust you. Amen. 

Lenten Devotion for March 2

Alone
by Maya Angelou


Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don’t believe I’m wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.


Alone, all alone

Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.


There are some millionaires
With money they can’t use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They’ve got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.


Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.


Now if you listen closely
I’ll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
‘Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.


Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Lenten Devotion for March 1

The way of the cross

by John Harvey

Jesus,

as we start once again

to follow you

on the way of the cross,

we are apprehensive.

For we are not sure

of ourselves.

On our journey

we have often been afraid,

often sought the safe options,

often fudged the sharp solution.

On our journey

we have often tried to hide

our real selves

from others,

from ourselves

and from you.

We, who dare to say

we are following you,

know how faltering are our footsteps,

how delicate our discipleships,

how feeble our faith.

Yet still you call us

by name

and invite us into your company

and onto your road.

So give us the courage

and the commitment we need:

help us to look out for one another on the road;

show us how we may share the duty

and the joy

of discipleship,

knowing that, in the end,

it is you who have blazed the trail,

you who accompany us all the way,

you who will meet us on the road,

and say our name. Amen