Lenten Devotional...March 31

Matthew 7:24-29

 

“…the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.”

(Matthew 7:28b-29)

 

On more than one occasion, the gospels speak of the crowd’s amazement in the aftermath of Jesus’ teaching.  Something was different.  Matthew tells us that the difference was the authority with which he spoke.  He didn’t speak of a way that others paved before him; he was the way. He wasn’t simply relaying truths handed down from generation to generation; he was truth.  He didn’t address life as a temporal treasure to be used up; he was life.  Some were appalled at his presumption…others were amazed by his authority.

 

In a series of passages across John’s gospel, Jesus used the first person pronoun, “I,” to speak of his identity and mission.  “I am the bread of life…I am the light of the world…I am the gate…I am the good shepherd…I am the resurrection and the life…”  He spoke of real life experiences in the stories he told, as seen in today’s text.  But he wasn’t simply relaying events to make a point; his authority communicated a purpose and intentionality that captured the attention and stirred the hearts of those who listened.

 

His words still speak authoritatively, if one takes the time to read and truly listen to them.

  

Prayer: May I allow your word to speak with authority to my life today, Lord. Amen.

 

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Devotional...March 30

Mark 12:28-34

 

“When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’”

(Mark 12:34a)

 

Jesus encountered a variety of Jewish scholars and temple leaders.  In many cases, they sought to expose him as a fraud, asking leading questions they hoped would trick him and disparage his message.  Our text today finds one man who appreciates what he has heard from Jesus. 

 

The scribe was drawn into conversation with Jesus because he respected his words.  He asked Jesus about the greatest of the commandments.  Jesus’ answer invoked the centrality of God at the heart of the relationship between Creator and creation, and between humankind.  The scribe’s response was well received by Jesus who told him he was not far from the kingdom.

 

What was his deficit?  What was the gap between the man’s words of affirmation and Jesus’ words of salvation?  Could it be that as learned as this man was, his understanding of God and his relationship to others was too narrowly defined by the law?  Jesus defined salvation in terms of love and offered evidence of his argument in his own words and actions…”No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)

 

The cross is evidence of this love…the greatest argument for salvation ever offered.

 

Prayer: May love guide our steps to the cross, Lord.  Amen.

 

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Devotional...March 27

Luke 9:57-62

 

“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

(Luke 9:62)

 

Our Miniature Schnauzer, Max, never meets a stranger.  He believes every person he encounters is looking for him.  That makes it a continual challenge to keep him focused when we go for a walk.  If there is someone nearby, particularly behind him, he will turn around every three or four steps to make sure they are still there.  In order to finish the walk, we often have to turn around to greet, then pass the person behind us.  We catch ourselves coming and going sometimes.

 

The words of Jesus may again seem harsh in today’s text.  Surely, one might argue, there are understandable distractions that cause even the most devoted follower to turn back.   Jesus knew the stakes were high.  He said that anyone who followed him would have to take up their own cross.  As a result, many were unwilling to honor their commitments to him and turned back.  Peter came to the painful realization that it was often easy to utter words of allegiance and commitment, but difficult to follow through.      

 

The Lenten journey is not a path of ease and distraction.  Our focus is the cross.  To turn away is to cheapen the price of grace.

 

Prayer: Help me have courage today, Lord, to keep my eyes on the cross. Amen.

 

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Devotional...March 26

Luke 7:36-50

 

^“ Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.’”

(Luke 7:39)

 

A closed mind is a tragic misuse of a precious gift.  The ability to think and reason is a treasure bestowed by the Creator.  Too often we diminish this gift by foolishly allowing ritual, tradition, and the intoxicating influence of the crowd to narrow our perspective.  It is much easier to stay the course or follow the crowd than it is to consider the possibilities of revelation.

 

In Luke’s story, Jesus was invited to dinner in the home of a Pharisee named Simon.  The evening took a turn when a woman Simon later identified as a “sinner,” was overwhelmed in Jesus’ presence, washing his feet with her tears, pouring perfume, and using her hair as a towel. Simon muttered his disapproval of the woman and Jesus.  No self-respecting prophet would allow a sinful woman to do such scandalous things!  Jesus opened his heart to a broken, repentant sinner.  Simon closed his mind to the possibility of redemption for one unworthy.  The comparison was striking.

 

King David wrote of his own brokenness, “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart...”  Ritual or brokenness…closed mind or contrite heart? The choice must still be made.

 

Prayer: May my heart be open to your redemptive grace, O God.  And may I extend that grace to others in Jesus’ name.

 

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Devotional...March 25

Luke 17:11-19

 

“Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.  He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.”

(Luke 17:15-16)

 

Those of us familiar with this story often focus on the ingratitude of the nine. Though Jesus takes note of only one returning, I’m not sure that is the focal point of the story.  When the one realized he had been made clean, his grateful praise led him back to Jesus, where he fell at his feet and thanked him.  Luke then added, “And he was a Samaritan.” 

 

Jesus had a way of turning stories with a word that often astonished his audience.  Samaritans were despised by the Jews because of conflicts dating back centuries.  Most who heard Jesus would not have expected the one whose actions honored the Lord to be a Samaritan.  Similarly, the parable of the Good Samaritan placed an unlikely person at the heart of the story as the hero. From the perspective of Jesus, it would seem that faithfulness, compassion, and gratitude couldn’t be limited to “people like us.”  Gratitude, regardless of who expresses it, is vital to growing relationships. 

 

The fact that the grateful man was a Samaritan seems insignificant, yet… it was significant.  So, what then would you say was the most important element in this story…healing, gratitude, or valuing all persons, regardless?      

 

Prayer: Gratitude teaches us great life lessons, Lord. Continue to broaden our perspectives in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

 

Jim Abernathy  

Lenten Devotional...March 24

Luke 24:13-35

 

“Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

(Luke 24:35)

 

The familiar is at times overshadowed in the fog of busyness, disappointment, or grief.  That would seem to be the case for these men walking along the Emmaus road.  It had been a remarkable three days.  The one they thought was Messiah had been killed on Friday.  Then, Sunday morning, news reached them that women had returned to the tomb of Jesus only to find he was not there.  News spread among his followers that he was alive, but no one seemed to know what it all meant.

 

A stranger joined them along the journey and became an unexpected teacher about what had been foretold about the Messiah.  They paused along their journey and invited this stranger to dine with them.  When he blessed and broke the bread before them, they suddenly realized his identity…Jesus. 

 

It is often in the pauses of life that we encounter Christ.  Stopping along the journey, the cares and burdens dissipate and the familiar becomes recognizable again. Along this Lenten journey, amidst busyness, disappointment, even grief, pause a moment to recognize Jesus at work within you.    Perhaps, like these travelers, your heart too will burn within as you encounter Jesus once more.

 

Prayer: Walk beside me today, Lord Jesus. Help me pause and recognize that you are with me. Amen.

 

Jim Abernathy

Lenten Devotional...March 23

Luke 19:1-10

 

“All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’”

(Luke 19:7)

 

It was one of the first songs I learned in Sunday School.  Perhaps you remember the text.  “Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he.  He climbed up in the sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see.  And as the Savior came that way he looked up in the tree. And he said, ‘Zacchaeus, you come down from there, for I’m going to your house today. For I’m going to your house today.’”

 

The song was a great way to tell the story of a small man’s encounter with Jesus.  What the song didn’t communicate, however, was the smallness of the crowd who cared little for the transforming power of forgiveness.  They grumbled because Jesus would go to the house of a sinner.  Perhaps more troubling for them, he invited himself…he intentionally sought out this sinner.

 

As a child I learned the words of a song that taught a great story. As an adult, I continue to learn the significance of forgiveness from that same great story.  Jesus, you see, still seeks sinners… even those some of us continue to grumble about.

 

Prayer:  Gracious God, thank you for the persevering, intentional love and forgiveness of Jesus.  Amen.

 

Jim Abernathy