IN THIS SEASON

Welcome to In This Season! Our series of devotions appears Monday, Wednesday and Thursday of each week.

TODAY: FEBRUARY 8, 2023

Today’s Devotion was Written by Jill Cowan

¹²Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” ¹³Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” ¹⁴Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵You judge by human standards; I judge no one. ¹⁶Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid, for it is not I alone who judge but I and the Father who sent me. John 8:12-16 (NRSV)

This past week, I’ve been replaying a conversation and correspondence with a friend who comes from a fundamentalist faith tradition. Judgement has been central to the conversation. Who can judge? Who can be judged? What do we do with the separation and hurt that happens when we judge other people? Or when others judge us?

When I discovered that this reading from John was the lectionary Gospel reading for today, it felt like just what I needed to hear. It begins by reminding us once again that Jesus is the light of the world, and following Jesus helps us to realize God’s light and love that have always been there. But then we’re reminded that we’re human, and like the Pharisees so focused on the law, we want to decide what’s good or bad, who’s right or wrong, and worst of all, who’s in and who’s out. Although I try hard not to judge, I’m as guilty of doing it as anyone. And we often do it in the name of Christianity.

But then Jesus’ words in Matthew 22 refocus me –
³⁴When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵and one of them, an expert in the law, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:34-40 (NRSV)

Thank God for the ability to confess — we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves — remembering once again that we are all beloved children of God. And although judgement often comes all too easily, we are called to be Christ’s light. Judgement is left to God, not us, not anyone.

FEBRUARY 6, 2023

Today’s Devotion was Written by Zach Osmundson

¹⁰⁵Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
¹⁰⁶I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to observe your righteous ordinances.
¹⁰⁷I am severely afflicted;
give me life, O Lord, according to your word. Psalm 119

Just yesterday I was going climbing with a few friends and on the big sign at the front was a very important announcement to share with everyone who entered. Apparently, this past Sunday was Eat-Ice-Cream-for-Breakfast Day and I’m not going to lie, I was disappointed that I had missed that before breakfast, or I would have gone for a great big bowl of mint chip ice cream. Life is short; eat dessert first, right? Or maybe that was a sign from God that I needed to up my ice cream intake even further? Likely not that one but you never know. I think I would notice a sign like that right away! Did you hear that God?

We’re rapidly approaching the season of Lent which will begin Ash Wednesday, a time when we become re-centered on how Christ’s love is our resurrection. We are also reminded of the suffering that Jesus went through during his final time of ministry before making his way to the cross and his own resurrection. It is certainly one of the seasons that is important to me and is that symbolism that life isn’t always a piece of cake or a bowl of ice cream. If Jesus wasn’t immune to life’s challenges, we cannot be guaranteed an easy road either. While I think it is important to remind ourselves of life’s negatives and Christ’s walking alongside us in good and bad, we occasionally forget that Christ suffering doesn’t mean we need to bring suffering on ourselves. So, this Lent, instead of trying to emulate suffering for the sake of itself, I’m going to personally try to emulate selflessness and service to others. So instead of giving up my breakfast bowl full of ice cream (which I should do anyway), I’m going to pack meals for others. Instead of buying another trinket from the store, I’ll give a person-in-need a couple extra dollars for a meal. Christ suffered for us and we must acknowledge and hold it in reverence, but consider joining me in giving up things for ourselves not to make ourselves miserable this Lent, but to bring a little suffering out of the lives of those who live with more of it.

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

Today’s Devotion was Written by Pastor Lane Doerring

The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. Then he left them and went away. Matthew 6:1-4

February 2^nd is Groundhog Day, a day where the groundhog is supposed to give us a sign. If he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. Here in Minnesota, we look for six more weeks of winter whether he sees his shadow or not. There is no scientific evidence for this prediction. It’s just an amusing break in the middle of a long winter. Punxsutawney, PA has turned it into an annual celebration. One of my favorite movies is Groundhog Day where the day keeps happening over and over again until they get it right.

Since childhood I have learned some poems about weather signs, such as: “Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning; Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; Rain before seven quits by eleven.” Etc. These have proved to be quite reliable. We go by them. But here Jesus warns us that we may know weather signs, but fail to read the more important signs concerning our relationship to God. In her Christmas letter a friend wrote, “There are signs all around. Sometimes we recognize the signs and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we just ignore them even though we know exactly what they mean. Like speed limit signs; who follows those? I mean, does 55 mean 55, or 56, or something else? Or signs like changes in weather patterns or dramatic declines in populations of certain species of wildlife or a myriad of other signs out there that have been ignored for years. When something or someone changes, what is that a sign of? Do we notice it?”

We don’t need to ask for signs. The world is full of them. The important thing is how do we respond to them. And we know the greatest of all signs is Jesus, Immanuel, God with Us, who came to live among us and serve as a sign of God’s love for us and desire to save us.

Lord, help us to respond to your signs by reaching out to others and sharing this love with them. Amen.

JANUARY 30, 2023

Today’s Devotion was Written by Evan Lieber

Gore Pass Elev. 9524

Food always tastes better when you’re hungry. If you’ve ever had a Hammer Gel “goo” packet when you weren’t exhausted, you know what I mean. For those who haven’t heard of them, Hammer Gel is a nutrition supplement marketed to cyclists. They are packets of about an ounce of goo-like gel with a texture I can only describe as a marriage between rubber and yogurt. What makes them especially great on a bike is, even with the driest mouth, one squirt of water from your bottle will allow you to swallow it without missing a gulp of air. To me, on a good day, not even the taste is redeemable with such flavors as Chocolate, Vanilla, or “Tropical.” On the day to day, there is nothing I would like less than to have one of these for lunch. That said, in 2015 as I was sitting atop Gore Pass on Highway 134 (between Kremmling, CO and Toponas, CO), and munching on a sandwich of two halves of a peanut butter cliff bar with a chocolate Hammer Gel leaking out from between, I was convinced I was a culinary genius. After sitting on a bike, climbing up the pass since our onset at 5:00am, (a 17.2 mile, 2211 ft elevation gain trek) I think I earned the right to a hunger that would let me stomach anything.

In reflection maybe cyclists really are just crazy, but I’m sure this kind of subjective experience is everywhere in our lives. Ever notice how much more comfortable a couch is after a long day? How a cold shower, which is usually a shocking experience, seems so nice after a full day in the sun? Maybe, you have experienced that food tastes better when shared? How about, how much more exciting it is to see a friend after not visiting them in a long time? The point is perspective is everything. How might our daily lives change if we could live them like we’re experiencing the day to day like it was the first time? When you take a toddler for a walk is not every bug, stick, or pebble worth stopping for? Maybe this is what God meant when he called for a “childlike” faith, and I do believe that, just like the hungry cyclist can enjoy Tropical goo, even in adulthood we can achieve a mindset like this. Challenge yourself today to find one thing to experience to its fullest. Maybe consciously chew every bite of your lunch focusing on the flavor. Perhaps take a moment to appreciate the serene beauty of a frozen lake on your way home from work. Or, if you feel so inclined, take 60 seconds, and focus only on your breathing. How do your lungs feel when full to their utmost with air? How does your heart react to a fresh breath? How does your mind still when given the chance?

But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
Mark 10:14

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