February 28, 2017

Living into Lent

(Image: Pixabay)

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Adam and Eve do not passively listen to the snake’s temptation.
It is clear from Eve’s response to him that she has
been thinking about this all along. The snake says, “Did God
say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Eve answers
by enlarging and elaborating...

Dear God, help us to realize that, whatever we may suspect, you want only what is best for our well-being. Amen.

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Lectionary Week

February 27–March 5, 2017

Scripture Overview

The texts for Ash Wednesday are all ominous in nature, pointing forward to the redemptive power of God’s grace. Lent is a time when Christians reflect on their mortality and sin, as well as on the creative and re-creative power of God. The original parents of humanity could not resist the seduction of the serpent, but that narrative stands beside the story of Jesus’ lonely and painful resistance to the power of Satan. In Romans, the “one man’s obedience” by which “the many will be made righteous” is the quality that endures. The Joel passage is an alarm bell in the darkness of the night. Those who are caught in this terrible moment cannot hope to save themselves, for they are powerless to do anything on their own behalf. They are powerless to do anything, that is, except to repent and to open themselves to God’s intervening mercy.

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

• Read Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7. What choices have you made that put you outside God’s intention for your life?
• Read Psalm 32. Are there unconfessed wrongdoings in your life that need God’s forgiveness? Will this Lent be a time when you can nd the freedom forgiveness brings?
• Read Romans 5:12-19. Have you experienced a relationship that has died? How has God renewed that time in your life?
• Read Matthew 4:1-11. What has tempted you to set faith aside and to trust only in yourself? How did that work out?

Respond by posting a prayer.