Lent Devotional 2021 - Pittsburg - Flipbook - Page 29
But through their stumbling salvation has come to the
Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their
stumbling means riches for the world, and if their defeat
means riches for Gentiles, how much more will their full
inclusion mean!
FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021
DEVOTIONAL
Romans 11:13-24
When my children were small, one of their favorite books
was, Mama, Do You Love Me? It is a sweet and simple story
of a little girl testing to see whether there are limits to her
mother’s love for her. The little girl poses questions to her
mother, beginning with descriptions of small, mischievous
acts like, “Mama would you love me if I threw water on our
oil lamp?”—to which the mother replies, “I would still love
you.” The questions progress to include more and more
outrageous behavior, ending with: “Mama would you love
me if I turned into the biggest, meanest polar bear with big
shiny teeth and I chased you into your tent and you cried?”—
to which the mother replies, “I would be very surprised. And
very scared. But I would know it is really you inside that polar
bear. And I would still love you.”
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am
an apostle to the Gentiles, I glorify my ministry 14 in order to
make my own people jealous, and thus save some of them.
15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world,
what will their acceptance be but life from the dead! 16 If the
part of the dough offered as first fruits is holy, then the whole
batch is holy; and if the root is holy, then the branches also
are holy. 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and
you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share
the rich root of the olive tree, 18 do not vaunt yourselves over
the branches. If you do vaunt yourselves, remember that it is
not you that support the root, but the root that supports you.
19 You will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be
grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because
of their unbelief, but you stand only through faith. So do
not become proud, but stand in awe. 21 For if God did not
spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you.
22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity
toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness toward
you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you
also will be cut off. 23 And even those of Israel, if they do not
persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power
to graft them in again. 24 For if you have been cut from what
is by nature a wild olive tree and grafted, contrary to nature,
into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural
branches be grafted back into their own olive tree.
Here in Romans 11:1-12, Paul presents an image of a God
who is gracious, kind, and never gives up on God’s people,
even when they reject God’s blessings and become hardhearted, mean, and sluggish. God doesn’t forget who we
are inside when we stumble, disbelieve, and snarl at life. Like
a loving parent, God will not reject the worst angels of our
nature. In fact, according to Paul, God is longing for us to
cast off everything that prevents us from living into our true
identities as God’s beloved children.
In this season of Lent, we are invited to consider our lives
deeply, to be honest about the things we have done and left
undone that cause us to stumble away from the merciful
heart of God. Like the little girl in the story, we can safely
think about, pray about, and confess all those dark places
inside ourselves because, at the end of the story, we will
never be rejected by the One whose love is inclusive, wide,
and deep. We do not stumble so we can fall. Every day,
through the grace of God, our stumbling leads us right back
into the loving arms of Jesus.
PRAYER
Holy parent of all people, we do not need to ask whether you
love us, because it is your love that gives us life and breath.
Forgive us when we stumble, teach us when we are sluggish,
open our eyes and ears to experience the power of your Holy
Spirit. Let us be so confident of your love for us that our lives
become a testimony of your love for all creation. Thanks be
to God. Amen.
The Rev. Dr. John Charnock ’09
SCRIPTURE
DEVOTIONAL
In this passage about the olive tree, Paul does three things:
asks a question, provides an answer, and tells the truth. First,
the question. Who do you think you are? We might fancy
ourselves the heart of things, but the fact is we’re barely a
part of things. I’ve never seen a wild olive shoot, yet I realize
I am one. Undisciplined, wandering, haphazard. I know who
I am. Who do you think you are? That’s a question Paul asks
us all.
He also provides an answer, spelled G-R-A-C-E. By grace, a
wild olive shoot is treated as a natural branch. By grace, a
lost soul is welcomed home. By grace, the question finds an
answer. “Who do you think you are?” sounds the question.
“Saved by grace,” comes the resounding reply.
So there are the question and the answer. Now it’s time for
the truth. None of this is easy. All that pruning and grafting is
painful—so of course it hurts. Especially in the middle of Lent,
it hurts. After all, we follow one who took Holy Week walks
in the olive groves. We bear the cross of one who died on the
tree.
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary | www.pts.edu