Welcome to In This Season! Our series of devotions appears Monday, Wednesday and Thursday of each week.
TODAY: APRIL 25, 2024
Today’s Devotion was Written by Pastor Kyle Jackson
“I have come that you might have life and have it to the full.” John 10:10, paraphrased.
We are in a section of the lectionary where we are getting a lot of the gospel of John. The lectionary divides into three different years and three different gospels. There is Matthew, Mark, and Luke. They are called synoptic gospels. They go together. There are many similarities. Then there is the gospel of John. It is wild. Comparing Matthew, Mark and Luke to John is not like comparing apples to oranges. It is more like comparing a cat to a microwave. We are currently in the gospel year of Mark. Since Mark is the shortest gospel, there is extra room for us, especially during Easter, for us to get more gospel of John stories.
We are experiencing a season at Mount Calvary of abundance and fullness. We are in the Easter season and additionally, we have had Pastor Mark’s ordination and five funerals. There is much happening and sometimes we just need to hold on. I find when there is much abundance happening, I can start to feel overwhelmed. And overwhelming is an interesting feeling and emotion. It is both exciting and sometimes a little bit too much. When I am feeling this way, I find it good to check in with myself and take good care. I go on a walk. I go home early one day (and don’t feel guilty about it!) I listen to music. My wife and I go out with dear friends for a nice dinner.
Jesus, the Christ comes to us so that we have an abundant and full life. This means we will laugh harder. We will cry harder too. We will feel all of life in all of its fullness. Capture and mark these moments. And remember. These are the good ol’ days!
APRIL 24, 2024
Today’s Devotion was Written by Kara Paulson
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15: 5-8
au·da·cious
1 a: intrepidly daring : ADVENTUROUS
an audacious mountain climber
I recently rewatched a movie from about 20 years ago, called Hope Floats. Maybe you’ve seen it? Sandra Bullock stars as Birdie, a woman whose whole life is upended when she is betrayed by her husband and her best friend. Shattered, she takes her young daughter and goes limping home to her mother’s house in her old hometown.
With confidence crumbled, Birdie simply goes through the motions of her life. Then, she reconnects with a childhood friend who helps her remember who she used to be. He reminds her that she was so brave … daring even. Audacious! With the love and encouragement of family and friends, she begins to believe that she can heal, that her life can again be something special.
In John 15, Jesus encourages the disciples to be audacious too. Go out, he says, and be intrepidly daring. Know that you are firmly rooted and the fruit you bear will glorify your Father in Heaven.
Remember today that we are firmly rooted too, and can live adventurously, with the same promise. We can go forth with good courage, knowing that rain and wind only make vines grow stronger!
Easter Benediction:
As Christ burst forth from the tomb, may new life burst forth from us showing itself in acts of love and healing to a hurting world. Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit bless you now and forever. Amen.
APRIL 22, 2024
Today’s Devotion was Written by Zach Osmundson
In my Monday night young adult discussion group, Lighthouse, we spent the evening discussing justice and what role justice plays in the world. Our topic was Justice, Forgiveness, Vengeance, & Mercy, and we were trying to understand how to avoid bad feelings, like vengeance, and focus on good feelings like mercy and justice. Going back and forth about why human-created things like the justice system can feel unjust sometimes and why forgiveness and mercy can come with such difficulty. And even when, deep down, we would really like to see people who have done wrong suffer a little bit. Why would God wire us to feel these negative feelings when we feel like we should not?
These sentiments of trying to categorize and compartmentalize good and bad feelings brought about a new turn as we thought back to the words of civil rights leader John Lewis and “good trouble” or the righteous anger spoken about in the Bible. We humans are intentionally created to feel all these emotions because they can lead to change or better understanding of others. But if we do want to be good people, how do we act upon these emotions that have a negative connotation? Rabbi Brad Hirschfield shared his sentiments that, to err or feel vengeance is human, and forgiveness is divine misses the picture. And it really does! While we try to categorize the good and the bad feelings into neat little boxes, that’s not where they belong. These feelings are sacred and important in how we interact with the world around us, not because they are good or bad, but because they are real. While vengeance might be our feeling, and a valid feeling when we have been wronged, it is through making the decision to turn that feeling into an act, not towards getting even, but towards justice. A justice that converts our hurt into a deeper sensitivity to others and hopefully reduces the likelihood of feeling vengeful in the future.
Inside each of us is the need for justice and vengeance, just as we also need mercy and forgiveness. It is in invalidating our feelings that we become untrue to ourselves. Instead, it is in how we turn those feelings into true justice-filled and God-oriented actions that define who we are as Christians and as humans. Be true to yourself and the feelings you have been gifted (even if it doesn’t always feel like it) to experience, and let that truth bend towards justice.
APRIL 18, 2024
Today’s Devotion was Written by Jill Cowan
That same day two of [the disciples] were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was. Luke 24:13-16
Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!
We heard these words on Easter. Remember that cold, blustery day? The sanctuary was beautiful, the music glorious, the preaching inspiring, and yet I felt very removed from it all. We continue to speak this proclamation throughout the Easter season, but the joy just isn’t there for me this year.
We live with constant reminders that there is something seriously wrong in this world —countless wars and conflicts, food and job insecurity, escalating crime, mistreatment of our planet, severe divides in our nation, growing mental health issues, broken relationships — the list goes on. In this season of Easter, our world is still hurting, and that Easter joy eludes me. I’m guessing that I’m not alone.
A couple of podcasters, Kate Bowler and Kate Mroz, have helped me with some clarity.
Kate Bowler reminded me of a concept I’ve heard before. She thinks about joy as “something we live into … precisely because of what we live with.”
And Kate Mroz reminded me of a fundamental truth — “The promise of the resurrection holds true … even when the suffering of this world makes us doubt. Jesus is already and always in our midst, but sometimes, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, our situation prevents us from seeing him and knowing he is there.”
So, if you’re feeling this too, it’s ok. Kate Mroz continues, “Easter is not so much an event on the calendar as it is an experience. Jesus’ disciples do not all see him at the same time, nor did they see him right away. They had their own personal encounters that convinced them that they were in the presence of their beloved Teacher.”
We live in the now and the “not yet” and “in the meantime,” often struggling and hopefully finding some joy too.
Instead of our Easter proclamation, I’d like to offer up the proclamation from our communion liturgy that we don’t often say. We not only proclaim the risen Lord, but we’re also reminded that for those of us who haven’t felt that Easter joy, we’ll always get another chance.
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Alleluia!
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