Lent 09 week of 3/1

Sunday-Lent has 40 days, not counting Sundays. I like the thought. Sundays mark the resurrection, so it puts the Lord’s Day into a new key. I t reminds me of Prince calling Sunday “his fun day.” The Sabbath is a time to take a break even from tasks such as spiritual self-improvement and instead to” let go and let God” in worship.

Monday- With John Calvin’s 500^th birthday, I’ll try to have a quote every week. He spoke of the world as a “theater for God’s glory.” That is a remarkable statement for someone as ascetic as Calvin. He was overwhelmed with the glories of creation. In our time, science could make it seem dry and technical. With a different set of glasses, science gives so much depth to our sense of the world, especially beyond what the naked eye can spot.

Tuesday-As I write this, it is cold and windy, and the slush has frozen. February is a cruel month, as it seems that winter’s grip will not grow slack. If we had meteorologists of the human deeps, we would diagnose wintry hearts as a big problem. Bombarded by stimuli, we grow numb and cold to the world. Instead of it being personal, it becomes abstract and unreal, an item to be observed without participation. In high school, we read a poem by Robert frost, hwere he was afraid that the world would end in icy indifference. Perhaps, that’s another reason Easter comes in the spring.

Wednesday-Peace is so elusive, either inner peace or the blessed event of peoples getting along well. I am so tired of troops shot up overseas, as I was a boy raised on the Thursday body counts of Vietnam on the news. Using Lent as a time to learn some peacemaking techniques fits the executed prince of Peace.

Thursday-The protein, laminin, helps with cell cohesion. Its organic structure is somewhat cross-shaped. Now I’m not jumping up and down about this, but I do like the thought. In Colossians hymns (1:15-20) all things hold together in Christ. The world Christ saves has a cruciform shape and need. Certainly, the glue to our faith is Jesus Christ. Where are cross-shaped holes in your soul?

Friday-In Luke, after the temptations, the devil leaves Jesus until ”an opportune time.” Many think that was at the Garden, or even at the cross. What is an opportune time for you to hear the tempter’s voice? Is it in crisis, or could it be when things are going very well? Perhaps, different temptations strike in different circumstances. What helps you push back against temptation?

Saturday-The economic downturn has caused real financial hardship in seminaries, foundations, and churches. The natural anxious response is to issue giving demands, with the dreaded stewardship pledges or tithing campaigns. Instead of operating out of fear of lack, perhaps generosity would be a better theme. I’m not suggesting being a Pollyanna, but I am suggesting that we often do better when we examine our virutes, and resources instead of a focus on our lack.