Lent Devotional 2021 - Pittsburg - Flipbook - Page 11
MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2021
The Rev. Dr. Steven H. Shussett ’93
SCRIPTURE
Romans 1:1-15
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle,
set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised
beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 the
gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David
according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be Son of God
with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection
from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we
have received grace and apostleship to bring about the
obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his
name, 6 including yourselves who are called to belong to
Jesus Christ, 7 To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called
to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. 8 First, I thank my God through
Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed
throughout the world. 9 For God, whom I serve with my
spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that
without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers,
10 asking that by God’s will I may somehow at last succeed in
coming to you. 11 For I am longing to see you so that I may
share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—
12 or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each
other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I want you to know,
brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to
you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may
reap some harvest among you as I have among the rest of the
Gentiles. 14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians,
both to the wise and to the foolish 15 —hence my eagerness
to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
DEVOTIONAL
Publishing calendars being what they are, I write this
devotional in the middle of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic,
meaning that I don’t know how the story will unfold. Are
these words read with relief over a return to normalcy, or
with a sigh, knowing difficulties yet unimagined?
For Paul, writing to a Roman church he hoped to visit, the
future was no more secure. He knew his mission’s intention,
but not its outcome, even as he was among the first to
articulate what he understood God’s desired outcome to be.
This present generation today will remember what it means
to be “set apart.” If for the gospel, this theology of the cross
means following the One who laid down his life, which for
us includes loving God and neighbor by keeping physical
distance. We don’t go out, we don’t touch even many whom
we love. In so doing—or actually, in so not doing—we lay
down the life that wants to do what we have always done.
Sometimes loving one another is best achieved by not seeing
one another face to face, but as through a mirror dimly.
Yet even then the Spirit calls us to be with God by being with
others. We pray for one another even when we are prevented
from being physically present with one another. We share
some spiritual gift to strengthen and mutually encourage one
another, whether it be greeting a wizened veteran walking in
his backyard, singing from a balcony, or group celebrating-byZoom.
To you, 2021 Christian, the question before you is whether
the lessons of 2020 have been taken to heart or swept
into the dustbin of history. Is compassion our watchword?
Is creativity still allowed—in worship and in mutual
encouragement? Or have we already forgotten how precious
and appreciated simple acts of love and generosity can be?
PRAYER
Holy One, we are indebted to you, and to those who have
heard you, for inspiring us and calling us to the better angels
of our nature. Having reaped some harvest, strengthen us
with the Spiritual gifts necessary to sow seeds that eagerly
proclaim your gospel. In the name of the Sower himself do
we pray. Amen.
TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021
The Rev. Brian Lays ’15
SCRIPTURE
John 4:43-54
43 When the two days were over, he went from that place to
Galilee 44 (for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has
no honor in the prophet’s own country). 45 When he came
to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen
all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival; for they too
had gone to the festival. 46 Then he came again to Cana
in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now
there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum.
47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to
Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal
his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 Then Jesus
said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not
believe.” 49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before
my little boy dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will
live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him
and started on his way. 51 As he was going down, his slaves
met him and told him that his child was alive. 52 So he asked
them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to
him, “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.”
53 The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus
had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he himself believed,
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