Lent at Christ Church 2020 Encountering Christ in Our Humanness: Learning from Jesus to Be Fully Human TABLE OF CONTENTS The Daily Devotional Pages 1 The Daily Readings Pages 2 - 34 Contributors Page 34 Lent is that time of the liturgical year when we prepare our hearts for the remembrance of our Lord’s passion and His glorious resurrection. Lenten preparation is traditionally a time to reflect upon our lives, what we have done, and what we have left undone. This year, the Vestry has encouraged our church family to encounter Divine love. This Lenten devotional has been designed to do just that. We encounter God’s love in His humanity, through the finished work of Christ, in His providential care, and in our future hope. The theme for this Lent’s Devotional is: Encountering Christ in Our Humanness: Learning from Jesus to Be Fully Human Week 1 He was one of us. Week 2 He lived in tension between family, friends, and his calling. Week 3 Jesus and the status quo. Week 4 He needed others as we need others. Week 5 He responded to money, sex, and power. Week 6 He was good and angry. Week 7 He gave himself for others as we give ourselves for others. It is my hope that you will find spiritual refreshment in these pages as we live together in a continual encounter with Divine Love through our Lord Jesus Christ. Peace, Fr Terry THE DAILY DEVOTIONAL OPENING PRAYER - FROM PSALM 51 Open my lips, O Lord, * and my mouth shall proclaim Your praise. Create in me a clean heart, O God, * and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence * and take not Your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of Your saving help again * and sustain me with Your bountiful Spirit. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: * as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. THE KYRIE Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us. THE CONFESSION Most merciful God, We confess that we have sinned against thee in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved thee with our whole heart; We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we earnestly repent. For the sake of Thy Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in Thy will, and walk in Thy ways, to the glory of Thy Name. Amen. READING FOR THE DAY (According to the day beginning on page 4) PRAYER Personal and Family THE LORD’S PRAYER Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. 1 DAILY READINGS Week 1 He was one of us Ash Wednesday, February 26, 2020 Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin. He was temped as we are tempted Every time we say the Lord’s Prayer, we pray “Lead us not into temptation,” then quickly find ourselves confronting consequences of temptation. How can this be? Our God, in His Mercy, has not ‘led us’ to temptation. He has given us free will and we are quite able to wander into temptation on our own, through our own decisions, choices, thoughts, habits, reactions, desires - just to name a few. And there we are, once again, out among the thorns and thistles of this world. We are all sinners, living in a broken world – spring-loaded to the sin position. And, although God alone is capable to “deliver us from evil” when we repent and turn from evil, there are ‘natural consequences’ of those traps of temptation into which we find ourselves. Jesus is our High Priest who fulfilled the Law without sin and experienced temptations far greater than we can imagine. Jesus can not only deliver us from whatever quagmire in which we find ourselves, if we but ask and seek His guidance; He is also able to direct our paths around or through pitfalls, if we but ask and follow His guidance. As Jesus approached Jerusalem for the Passover Feast, He made choices, He made decisions, He had ‘human’ desires. On the cross, in his humanness, He Himself experienced separation from God! Through all, He did not Sin. Through all, He focused on His Father God and prayed “Not my, but YOUR Will be done.” Through Jesus’ example, we can seek His Wisdom through whatever we are facing and pray that He will guide us through, out of, or around difficulties and impediments we encounter, trusting Him to restore the footing on the path He has laid before each of us in His Will. I cannot count the times that I have lost track of His vision for my life, or how many times He has had to reach down and lift me from the trough of pain and discouragement that I slip into. Some time ago, the Holy Spirit allowed me to glimpse the real scenario of what had happened around me and how those events had directed my decisions and choices. Initially, I was surprised at all that He protected me from and realized that I hadn’t experienced the full force of what those events portended. Then I could see how He shaped and directed my disappointments and discouragements into a career that provided encouragement and assistance to others who had suffered catastrophic injuries and diseases. More recently, I have seen how He calls me out of situations and into other situations – sometimes with a nudge, sometimes it takes a 2X4, if I am determined in my own willfulness! Come, Holy Spirit and make Your Presence known even in our everyday, moment-to-moment choices, decisions and desires. Be Present and help us to stay securely on the path that You have set before us, seeking Your will in every step. Even when we stray from that path in our own will, abide with us and guide us back onto the Path. Remind us, Lord, that You 2 sometimes have detours for us – a bump in the road, potholes, even roadblocks when we become complacent. They are not put before us to lead us into temptation, trusting in our own wisdom and will, but are placed there to grab attention and refocus on You and Your Will. Amen ~George Arpin Thursday, February 27, 2020 John 4:3-6 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. He was weary as we are weary The journey from Judea through Samaria to Galilee covers 124 miles. Jesus and the disciples had walked 64 miles in 22hours over 2-3 days to reach Sychar. It had been very hot and dusty. He was tired and the well offered much needed refreshment. Has weariness overcome you? It did Moses during the battle with the Amalekites (Exodus 17:11-13). As long as Moses held up his arms and the staff, the Israelites were victorious. When his arms sagged, the Amalekites were victorious over Joshua’s men. Aaron and Hur held up the arms of Moses until the sun went down, bringing victory to the Israelites; those in prayer and those in battle. We, in our own power, give out, but God’s power is mighty and never ends. In our weakness He is made strong. We’ve heard of the neighbor who superhumanly lifted a car that had fallen on a man working under his car, or a mother who prayed for decades for her son to come to faith and who finally did. Weary, yes! Whether as an intercessor or on our own, we can’t do it all. Our weariness needs help, rest to restore in body and renew in purpose. Trust, Perseverance, Patience. When weariness threatens to overcome, choose to trust in the Lord’s provision. Persevere in that trust and in faith show patience in His timing, not ours. Could you be someone’s Moses? --Helen was mine. Our son went off the rails in high school and after 2 years I wanted a break from the front lines. I had no more words to pray. During our prayer time, I wondered if we should just emancipate him, confessing I wasn’t sure if I even loved him anymore. She declared, “You do love him or we’d not be praying faithfully for him. I don’t want you to pray for him for the next two weeks. I’ll do it for you.” Two weeks of resting in her prayers and restoring my footing renewed my strength. I relied on her arms raised for victory. When we stop to rest, intentionally or not, perhaps that down time is to let into our lives an unexpected blessing.