February 21-24
Day 1: Ash Wednesday, February 21
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2 • Lucy Richards
We are Christ’s ambassadors. For God made Christ to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God. We now have the privilege and responsibility to be his instruments to proclaim the message of reconciliation throughout the world. All of God’s saving acts in the history of his people find fulfillment in this present age of grace.
We, as Christians, are still powerfully influenced by our cultural environment; and most of the questions and problems that confronted the church at Corinth are still very much with us. If we can put Paul’s instruction to work in our lives now, we can return to the simple gospel sharing methods of Jesus. We can not only claim our own salvation but we can put our spiritual gifts to work and proclaim the gospel for all by our faith in action.
Paul underscored the urgency of this divine invitation. A God who forgives is a God to whom one can entrust and devote his life.
Henri Nouwen says, becoming the beloved means letting the truth of that become reality in everything we say or do. What is required of us is to become the beloved in the commonplaces of our daily existence and, bit by bit, close the gap that exists between what we know ourselves to be and the countless specific realities of everyday life. We can, by God’s grace, close the gap between our theology and our reality. The origin and goal of our existence has everything to do with the way we think, talk, and act in our daily lives. We are called to become bread for the world; bread that is taken, blessed, broken and given.
To God be the glory who provides our means of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Day 2: Thursday, February 22
Jesus commanded his followers “take up their cross daily” to ensure their place in the kingdom of God. In today’s busy, fickle world, what are we doing to take up our cross daily? How are we proving the endurance of our faith? With today’s bounty and peacefulness, we do not daily face struggles and trials that test our faith; therefore, our trial is one of remembering to bear our cross every day. Make meaningful time for Him each day. Remembering to heed Jesus’ command is the simplest proof of our enduring faith and assures us of our eternal life.
Day 3: Friday, February 23
Psalm 51 • Charmaine Fowler
In Psalm 51 we hear our recitation of our sins, many and varied. I feel it is both a personal recognition of our many sins and transgressions as well as a collective recognition of the sins and offenses of the whole of humankind. There is not just this acknowledgment but a repeated plea for forgiveness and compassion. We know that this forgiving nature of God through Jesus Christ is ours for the asking. We ask and it is granted. What we do with that is ours to determine. If we truly accept and feel this love, we will be able to act on it in our world today. That which we believe and visualize becomes reality to us. Upon this reality, we shape our life and actions in the image of Christ’s teaching. Our actions in that light can change the world and day and one life at a time. In this Psalm we promise many things. Please join me during this Lenten season in a serious effort to live out those promises.
Day 4: Saturday, February 24
In this passage, Jesus is sharing a feast with “tax collectors and sinners” and, when questioned, responds that He has come to call “sinners to repentance.” Is this not what Christ does at each celebration of the Eucharist? We prepare the feast to which He has invited us, and we who are sinners seeking to repent are at the table with Him. And the joy of it is that we are forgiven for past offenses and given the opportunity to “Try again.”
Thank you, Jesus.
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