Lent Devotional 2021 - Pittsburg - Flipbook - Page 7
the temple of his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they
believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
DEVOTIONAL
We are a people familiar with political and social unrest. We
continue to witness the pursuit of justice in new forms that
join a long history of prophetic responses to oppression.
For many, there is a deep desire to dismantle the racial
and economic systems tearing apart our nation and our
neighborhoods. Yet, it is quite controversial in the church to
suggest how we ought to respond to these calls for justice.
It can feel uncomfortable to try to navigate a world of chaos
and division. Afraid that we might create even more division,
we sometimes cling to the familiar. When we turn to this
story of Jesus overturning tables in the temple, we see that
our God does not shy away from the uncomfortable or
controversial.
During the season of Passover, Jesus entered the temple
to find people selling cattle, sheep, and doves. In order for
people to make the necessary sacrifices, there needed to
be an exchange of goods. For the travelers coming from
afar to celebrate in Jerusalem, they could purchase their
sacrificial animals conveniently upon arrival. This might seem
reasonable to us, but Jesus’ reaction is to pour out all their
money, turn over tables, and order those selling animals:
“stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”
In the Gospel of John, Jesus does not focus in on individual
greed, but he seems to critique and order a dismantling
of the entire system. This system of the marketplace is not
necessary, and he makes no promise to rebuild it. Instead,
Jesus turns the disciples’ attention to his own physical body. It
is not the physical temple that will be resurrected after three
days—it is the person of Jesus who will continue to draw
near to offer life even after death.
In this season of Lent, we practice releasing our clenched fists
that cling to what is familiar. This is not an easy or passive
task; it requires our constant attention to untangle ourselves
from systems that seek to dehumanize and to profit off the
soul of humanity.
As we engage in this work, this passage reminds us where
our God may be found. God is not idly strolling through the
marketplace. No, the God we follow breaks through division
to bring about justice. We find our God sitting at the well
with the Samaritan woman. We find our God sharing the
table with those deemed outcasts by religious leaders. We
find God not in the foundation of unjust systems, but in the
person of Jesus—the one who overturns tables, transgresses
boundaries, and continues to draw near.
PRAYER
God of Justice, continue to draw near to us, for we know
the journey is not always convenient or comfortable. When
we find ourselves in seasons of despair, give us perseverance
to continue on the journey, wisdom to untangle ourselves
from systems of injustice, and courage to be enactors of
justice. May we seek your comfort not in the systems that are
familiar, but in the one who draws near. Amen.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2021
The Rev. Hannah Loughman ’11
SCRIPTURE
Hebrews 3:12-19
12 Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may
have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the
living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as
it is called “today,” so that none of you may be hardened by
the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partners of
Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end.
15 As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden
your hearts as in the rebellion.” 16 Now who were they who
heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left
Egypt under the leadership of Moses? 17 But with whom was
he angry forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose
bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear
that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who were
disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter
because of unbelief.
DEVOTIONAL
“But exhort one another every single day, as long as it is
called ‘today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by the
deceitfulness of sin.” As a parent of a four-year-old child,
every day I find myself repeating the instructions I gave to
her “yesterday,” and the day before that, and the day before
that, and the day before that. You get the picture. You might
just know the drill. Sometimes my daughter responds with, “I
know, you already told me that.”
Does her response mean that I will stop telling her? No—not
until she takes the initiative to “do it on her own.” And there
are many activities—such as taking her plate to the sink and
throwing away her candy wrappers—she has begun to do
on her own. But every once in a while she needs a reminder.
I give her these reminders because I want her to grow to
the fullness of maturity physically, spiritually, mentally, and
emotionally. I tell her these things because I love her.
I think that often times we misunderstand what it means
to “exhort” someone. Exhortation isn’t a punishment or a
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