Saturday February 20 Lent
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Psalm 30
Because of its references to being in the grave, followed by joy, this psalm is often used on Saturdays, the weekly mini-anniversary of Jesus’ being in the grave.
“His wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye”—it’s not that God is losing God’s temper, but that God made the world so that actions have consequences—anything else would produce total chaos. It’s inevitable that evil selfish actions on our part have consequences but the psalm proclaims that God’s goodness acts to overcome the evils that we have caused. Christians interpret Jesus’ dying and rising as the process by which God accomplishes fulfilment and joy despite our evil.
Psalm 32
When I acknowledged my sin, I received immense joy. When we acknowledge our participation in oppressive policies, we know God will overcome those, and we can also be in joy instead of living in denial or guilt. Then we will have the energy to act against those oppressions.
Deuteronomy 7: 17-26
Moses tells the people who are about to enter the land, which is already inhabited, that God will destroy the people already living there. The ancient Jews felt those nations were evil and that’s why God would destroy them.
We now understand that such attitudes arose in our time from a sense of superiority and the false affirmation that newcomers received from comparing themselves to the “primitive” and “evil” people they conquered. Acknowledging our participation in such violence, and our attributing it to God and not to ourselves, is one of the difficult disciplines of Lent. But such honesty is the foundational step toward new life and renewed relationships.
It is of note that Jesus deliberately fed 4,000 of the descendants of those nations when he travelled into their territory. Seven baskets left over symbolized the seven nations that had been destroyed. This was an extraordinary political statement by Jesus who was saying that those pagan nations were equal to the Jews and that this passage of Deuteronomy was no longer to be obeyed. It was an astonishing and courageous statement against any command to destroy other peoples. Are we as sure as Jesus was, that God never approves of violence against entire peoples in our day?
John 1: 43-51
Jesus is attracting his disciples and Nathaniel is astonished to discover that Jesus already knows all about him. John’s gospel is saying that our discipleship begins when we experience not that we are learning about Christ, but that God in Christ already knows everything about us.
This week’s collect:
Almighty and everlasting God,
you despise nothing you have made
and forgive the sins of all who are penitent.
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts,
that we, worthily lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our brokenness,
may obtain of you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen
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