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| Image by Rennett Stowe |
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A GREETING
I cry aloud to you, O God,
and you answer me from the mountain of your holiness.
(Psalm 3:4)
A READING
“Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet our God in heaven feeds them. Aren’t you more important than they? Which of you by worrying can add a moment to your lifespan? And why be anxious about clothing? Learn a lesson from the way the wildflowers grow. They don’t work; they don’t spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in full splendor was arrayed like one of these. God knows everything you need. If God can clothe in such splendor the grasses of the field, which bloom today and are thrown on the fire tomorrow, won’t God do so much more for you—you who have so little faith? Seek first God’s reign, and God’s justice, and all these things will be given to you besides.
(Matthew 6:26-30;33)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
The Devil left, and angels came and attended Jesus.
(Matthew 4:11)
REFLECTIVE WISDOM
Know the way of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.
Introduce yourself. Be accountable to the one who comes asking for life.
Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
Never take the first. Never take the last.
Take only what you need.
Take only that which is given...
Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.
- from "The Honourable Harvest," in Braiding Sweetgrass
by Robin Wall Kimmerer
VERSE OF THE DAY
Now I can lie down and sleep, and then awake again,
for you have hold of me.
(Psalm 3:5)
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| "Christ in the Wilderness - Consider the Lilies," by Stanley Spencer (1939). In another of his paintings which conflate Jesus' ministry and sayings with his time in the wilderness, Spencer suggests that Jesus is being comforted by Creation. His body positioning invokes a deep wonder and reflection. The part of Jesus that was present at the creation of the world would be at home in any part of the wilderness. But perhaps the angels who come to take care of him take the form of desert daisies. |
In our final day with Jesus in the wilderness, we hear that he is finally at rest from being manipulated by the Tempter. Now instead of being subjected to pressure, he is attended to by angels. He is nearing the end of his sojourn, when he must shift into the work itself and return to the Galilee.
We all have had the experience of going through something challenging in which our adrenalin systems are on high alert and for a stretch of time we have fear or acute anxiety. When the moment subsides, we feel an inner collapse -- gratitude mixed with exhaustion and emotion. Those who meet us in that moment and offer us assistance or companionship become precious shoulders to lean on. They give us a strength we can't generate for ourselves.
Often this begins with care for the body. Friends and neighbours bring us food so that we don't have to worry about providing for ourselves and our families while we recover or regain our normal equilibrium. We have all experienced 'ministering angels' and perhaps we have also all been an angel at one point or another.
In the kindom of God fulfilled, we all can depend on each other with the same kind of certainty as we rely on God. This is what Jesus means as he talks about anxiety and fear in the midst of change. Our concern about scarcity can prevent us from sharing in our own abundance. The reassurance Jesus offers only works if we are helping to create abundance. We are not people of "little faith" in God, but Jesus is cautioning us not to have little faith in what true human generosity can achieve.
The trial of Jesus in the desert is a reckoning with his human body. Over the forty days, he has experienced the changes of the body that can come from hunger and thirst, from weariness and journeying, from oppressive and abusive forces. He can enter his ministry with a deeper knowledge of what it means to be fully human.
Today's final painting by Stanley Spencer shows Jesus on all fours deeply engaged with wildflowers. Spencer imagines that in the midst of his struggles, the very earth itself offers Jesus abundant cause for wonder. In the coming days, as we journey out with Jesus, how can we hold on to the Jesus who was fully human, who became one of us -- with a body? How can our understanding of the sacredness of bodies be transformed?
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| Image by Tracey Adams |
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Scripture passages are taken from the Inclusive Bible.
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LC† From Dust, Still Holy is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!
