To read: Luke 21:34-36
New Revised Standard Version Bible,[Jesus said] "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."
copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
To think about:
The
passage today calls us to what is a familiar Lenten theme: taking a sober look at ourselves. We need to ask ourselves how we are spending our time. Is our central focus "the worries of this life"? It is easy for us to be distracted by the nagging details of this world. We have to take care of them. But there is a bigger picture.
We are to "be alert," to live intentionally, and to see the worries of this life through the eyes of eternity. We need the "strength to escape" from what is going on around us, and that strength comes not from looking within ourselves, but through prayer, through looking to God to keep us grounded and stable in God's grace.
But God wants something else for us, too. God wants us to "stand" before Christ. Too often our Lenten practice of looking at ourselves soberly leaves us downcast, depressed, even groveling in the dirt. This is not where God wants us. We are called not to be dejected but to embrace the forgiveness God offers to us in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God calls us not to concentrate on our sins but to be changed by God's renewing power, to be strengthened for the battle before us. God calls us forth to joy and thanksgiving to stand tall before Jesus, ready for the work God has for us to do.
Lent is a time of looking at our lives, of focusing on the newness of life Jesus has won for us on the cross, and of standing before God, ready for the direction God has for us.
To pray:
Dear Lord, as we take a sober look at ourselves, let us see beyond our sins to your forgiveness and renewal of our lives. As we pray, give us your strength, and lift us up to stand before you, ready to answer our calling to be the light in our needy world. Amen.
First Lutheran Church, Ellicott City, Md.