 |
| Image by PhotoArt Images |
†
A GREETING
God! My God! It’s you—
I search for you!
My whole being thirsts for you!
My body desires you
in a dry and tired land,
no water anywhere.
(Psalm 63:1)
A READING
At once the Spirit forced Jesus out into the wilderness.
He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan.
(Mark 1:12-13)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Strengthen the weak hands,
and support the unsteady knees.
(Isaiah 35:3)
A PRAYER
Let yourself receive the one
who is opening to you so deeply.
For if we genuinely love Him
we wake up inside Christ's body
where all our body, all over,
every most hidden part of it,
is realized in joy as Him,
and He makes us, utterly, real,
and everything that is hurt, everything
that seemed to us dark, harsh, shameful,
maimed, ugly, irreparably
damaged, is in Him transformed.
- from "We awaken in Christ's body", by Symeon the New Theologian.
English version by Stephen Mitchell, found in The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry
VERSE OF THE DAY
My whole being clings to you;
your strong hand upholds me.
(Psalm 63:7)
†
 |
| "Driven by the Spirit into the Wilderness," by Stanley Spencer (1943) Throughout his life, Spencer, a British visual artist of the 20th century, made paintings featuring the figure of Jesus in the wilderness as he encounters creatures and botanical life that will become significant in his ministry. The fullness of the Christ body represented here is a counterpoint to the often slim and suffering figure that appears in paintings and sculpture, and which often seems meant to emphasize Jesus' suffering. How does it challenge us to see Jesus full of strength and size and full-bodied health? Here, he is as robust and strong as the surrounding wilderness. For these first four days, we will reflect on Spencer's Jesus. |
"I've been holding something heavy."
Those sung words of Jacob Collier may capture how many of us are feeling in these days. As Canada grieves with the people of Tumbler Ridge BC, as we stand in solidarity with Americans fighting to hold on to essential freedoms, as we watch our planet's climate and ecolological systems become less and less protected, as wars continue to rage and ceasefires fail, we may feel heavy with sadness, grief and fear. And then there is all that is going on in our own lives.
We carry all of our anxiety and grief in our hearts and minds, but our "heaviness" also takes its toll on our bodies. We can feel less energized, more listless, unable to sleep. It can be hard in the thick of winter, when temperatures plummet and snow seems perpetual, to make ourselves move. Our new year's resolutions may have begun to fade and spring feels hard to imagine.
How can Lent help us reorient? How can walking with Jesus in the wilderness help us to renew our discipleship while taking better care of ourselves and of each other?
Symeon the New Theologian was a tenth century monk. His prayer is a cry for the restoration of the body so that all might participate in the body of Christ. Restoration and renewal can be ours regardless of the age or lived realities of our bodies. Jesus sees, loves and dwells with us in the wildernesses of our lives, while also holding up the wholeness of who we really are.
In these first few days, we will reflect on the human body of Jesus in the wilderness. Over the next weeks, we will explore how human beings use their bodies in service to the world and to each other. We will also lift up aging bodies, the bodies that are struggling to escape oppression and poverty, and the bodies that express artistic and athletic gifts.
As we journey forward together, how can we learn to hold our "heaviness" while renewing our capacity to build God's kindom? Where will we find the sacred in the midst?
†
 |
| Image by PhotoArt Images |
†
Scripture passages are taken from the Common English Bible.
†
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!
